


It's Not Your Job

by Sassi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bomb, Bombing, Dad!Tony, Did I mention fluff?, Explosions, Explosives, F/M, Female Reader, First person reader, Fluff, Guns, Hurt Peter Parker, Like this is diabetes causing levels of fluff, Minor Character Death, Mugging, Nightmares, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Whump, Peter acts like he hates it but he totally loves it, Poisoning, Reader and Tony are bros, knife, no y/n, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-08-29 19:39:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 42,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16750357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sassi/pseuds/Sassi
Summary: Getting mugged in New York? Unfortunately common.Being saved by Spider-Man? Less common (but fucking awesome).Finding out that Peter Parker and Spider-Man are one in the same? What the actual fuck.(Now including: The Chaos and Absolute Delight of Dating Peter Parker)





	1. The Discovery

The letters and numbers on the papers in front of me started to blur together and I dropped my head down onto the paper, with a groan. The paper started to crinkle as my head pressed it into the rough carpet. I glanced up at Peter from my position on the floor. His chair creaked as Peter turned his body to face me, a smile appearing on his face.

“Having fun there, bud?” he laughed, leaning back and resting his legs up on the desk.

“I don’t think I need to know this stuff in life,” I sighed. “I’ll be just fine without it!”

He glanced down at my scattered papers. “Uhh… I’m pretty sure that understanding interest rates is kinda important.”

I waved my hand at him dismissively. “Tell you what, you learn this stuff and I’ll just keep you around.”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s times like this that I feel really appreciated.”

“Oh and you’ve got your Stark internship which I’m sure will lead to a great paying job and I can just mooch off you forever!” I grinned. “This is the best life plan ever.”

“Becoming your friend was a terrible mistake,” Peter said, shaking his head.

“Either way, I’m done with homework for the moment,” I announced, dramatically shoving my homework away.

He bent down and picked up one of the pages. “You did like… two problems.”

“The important thing is that I tried,” I argued.

“Fiiiiine,” he sighed. “But I’m not letting you copy off me tomorrow.”

“You have such little faith in me.” I gathered my papers together, slipping them into a random book in my bag. “Hey, what’s the time?”

“Uhh…” Peter glanced at his watch. “Oh wow, it’s already 7.”

“Crap.” I quickly opened my phone and typed out a quick ‘@ Peter’s, be home soon’ text to my mom. “I was supposed to be home an hour ago.”

“Want me to walk you home?” Peter asked.

Getting to my feet as a struggle after laying on the floor for so long, but eventually I managed and threw my bag over my shoulders. “Nah, it’s only ten minutes. I’ll be fine.”

Peter’s brow furrowed and his mouth curled down into a frown. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve done it hundreds of times. Seriously, I’ll be fine,” I smiled. “I’ll text you when I get home, okay?”

He let out a resigned breath. “...Fine.”

“You worry too much! I’ll see you tomorrow, with my completely finished homework.” With a wave, I walked out of his room.

“I’ll believe it when I see it!” he called back.

I said a quick goodbye to May and started my walk home. The streets were relatively quiet, as quiet as New York streets get anyway. My arms swung in time with my footsteps and the air was brisk enough that I could see my breaths as a fine white mist in front of my face.

Five minutes into my walk, I noticed a man walking towards me. I didn’t pay him much attention, half lost in a daydream. When he was almost past me, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him trip. He stumbled into me, shoving my smaller frame into the alley on my left. I let out a startled “hey, watch it!”, but I didn’t get any further than that as he dragged me further into the darkness, away from prying eyes. My fears were confirmed when I saw the glint of a knife.

As soon as he pulled out the weapon, my entire body froze and he slammed me into the stone wall. My backpack crumpled behind me, my back arching from its awkward shape. 

“Alright girly.” His voice was rough and gravelly. There was also an edge to it that made it sound like he was enjoying the situation. “Wallets and all valuables. Now.”

I could remember taking one or two self-defence classes, but every single thing I’d been taught had completely slipped my mind. Fortunately though, despite the dim lighting of the alley, I got a fairly clear look at his features. He was a few inches taller than me, his dirty blonde hair a dishevelled mess. A whimper escaped my throat as the blade pressed into my skin and my hands clenched tightly into fists.  

“I… I don’t have any money,” I choked out. “P-Please!”

He let out a low chuckle. “Ahhh I do love it when they beg. Drop the bag.”

He didn’t move the knife at all, so I had to arch my back even further to get the straps off my shoulders, which only pushed my body against his. Finally, the bag slipped off and fell to the ground with a quiet thump. I pulled away from him immediately and braced myself against the wall. He followed me though, pressing himself against me.

“I have to admit, after those delightful cries, I’m real curious to see what other noises I can get out of you,” he growled, a terrifying smirk appearing on his face.

Another desperate cry passed through my lips as I felt his hands on me. I tried to block out the feeling of his fingers making their way up my shirt; the cold steel pressing harder against my throat; the sound of his breathing. The worst thing was that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get my hands to move to even try to punch him. I couldn’t lift my leg to kick him where the sun don’t shine. The alley seemed to grow even darker than it had been before and suddenly breathing became much harder. My body had given up, paralysed by fear, and I felt my eyelids fall shut. I couldn’t stop what was happening, but that didn’t mean I had to watch it happen.

Then his weight was gone, the cold breeze a sharp contrast to the warm body that had been pressed against mine only a second prior. My eyes flew open again and, through the darkness of the alley, I could see my attacker being punched repeatedly by a smaller figure wearing a red and blue suit.  _ Spider-Man _ . 

The masked superhero finally pulled back, leaving my attire bloody and groaning on the stone ground. Spider-Man approached me with his hands out in front of him, showing me he wasn’t going to hurt me. My whole body started shaking and my gasping breaths dissolved into sobs. He quickly enveloped me into a tight hug, one hand holding me close against him and his other hand gently stroked my hair.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

I heard my attacker groan again and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him trying to stand. I instantly tensed, whimpering again. Spider-Man’s head whipped in his direction and flung out his arm, the other arm was still curled around my waist. There was a wet thump sound and more pained noises from my attacker. I glanced over and saw him stuck to the ground by webs, barely able to move.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“He can’t hurt you anymore, you’re safe,” he promised, folding his other arm around me again. 

I nodded, closing my eyes and pressing my head into his chest. I focused on the steady beating on his heart and gradually my body stopped shaking and my breathing evened out.

“There you go.” He breathed a sigh of relief, stroking my hair again. “Let’s get you home. Do you think you can walk?”

I paused for a second before nodding. “Yes, I think so.”

He bent down to pick up my backpack, throwing it over his shoulder. At first, my steps were slow and unsure as my legs were still locked. He never rushed me though, leaving one hand lightly resting against my back. We left the alley, the brightness of the streetlights a reassuring comfort. It took awhile, but I finally was walking at my usual pace again. We definitely got a few looks; it wasn’t often that Spider-Man was seen  _ walking _ the streets of Queens. Five minutes later, we were at my doorstep.

“I’m going to keep an even closer eye on this area, I can promise you that,” he said, handing me back my bag. “And I’m going to let the police know what happened.”

I leaned up and kissed him on his mask-covered cheek. “Thank you, Spider-Man. I’ll see you around?”

“Umm… yes,” he choked out, taking a second to clear his throat. “Uhh… right. You should probably head inside.”

His flustered stuttering managed to bring a smile to my face and I gave him a wave before I walked up the stairs and into my building. I sent a quick text to Peter that I was home.

“Hey, sweetie!”

“Hey, Mom!”

Mom was in the kitchen when I got inside, putting the finishing touches on what looked to be spaghetti bolognese. I paused in the doorway of the kitchen to glance up at the clock, stunned when I saw it was only 7:20.

“How was your day?” She looked up from the pile of dirty dishes stacked in the sink.

“Umm…” I awkwardly fiddled with the straps of my bag, not meeting her eyes. “I mean… my day started off really well.”

“Oh?” She frowned, the classic look of motherly concern present on her face. “What happened?”

“I… I’m not really in the mood to talk about it right now,” I shrugged. “I’ll tell you, I promise, but just… not right now. Maybe in the morning?”

Mom looked worried, but she didn’t press me for any more information. That was definitely something I appreciated about her.

“Is it okay if I eat in my room tonight?” I asked. “I’m kinda tired.”

“Of course love.” She quickly spooned out some pasta into a bowl for me and gently kissed my forehead. “You know I’ve got your back, right?”

“I know,” I nodded, giving her a small smile. “Thank you.”

It took me a while to start eating, my stomach twisting uncomfortably. Eventually, I forced myself to eat, managing half of it before my stomach protested. I pulled out my chemistry homework, solving two of the problems before my brain gave up again. I tried my best to ignore the fact that the questions had taken me twice as long to solve as they usually would have. My brain just kept dragging up memories of the alley.

At some point, I wasn’t really sure what time it was, mom came in to grab my bowl, frowning at the half-eaten food but not mentioning it. She gave me a hug and said she loved me and I echoed the words back to her. Dad popped his head in to say goodnight as well, finally home from his night shift. 

I slipped my headphones on, spending out the next few hours with music blasting into my ears, the volume turned up as high as I could stand. My body begged me for sleep, I could feel the weariness in every part of my body, but my mind was far too alert. It was only when I ran my fingers along the thin cut along my neck that I started to cry, attempting to stifle my sobs as much as I could so I wouldn’t wake my parents. 

The darkness of my room was suddenly too much and I turned my phone on, the brightness immediately blinding me. The glowing screen declared that it was just past one when my eyes adjusted. It opened up to my conversation with Peter since it was the last app I had open. I hesitated for a few seconds before pressing the call button. He answered on the sixth ring, just as I was about to hang up.

“Hey.” His voice was slurred and muffled by what I assumed was his blankets. “What time is it?”

“Umm… around one, I think,” I answered, my voice not as steady as I had intended. “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have called.”

“No wait, what’s wrong?” He sounded much more awake now.

“It’s possible… that I was uhhh… almost mugged…” 

“ _ What _ ?” He almost yelled the words. “Oh my god, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine… well I mean he… he had a knife to my throat…” 

“Holy shit… I’m so sorry,” he said. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I’ve been laying here for ages and I can’t get to sleep,” I explained, hating how vulnerable I sounded. “I don’t care if you fall asleep again… I just… I just don’t want to be alone right now.”

His response was instant. “Of course. Is your phone plugged in? I don’t want it to die on you.”

“Oh crap, thanks.” I grabbed the cord from my bedside table and plugged it into my phone, waiting to hear the little ding that meant it was charging. “I’m really sorry for this. You barely get enough sleep as it is.”

“Nope. Don’t even think about apologising right now,” he insisted. 

I already felt ten times better, just by hearing Peter’s voice and seeing his grinning picture on my phone. He’d always had a way of knowing just how to make me feel better, which I suppose made sense considering how long we’ve been friends.

“Hey, did I ever tell you about when I first met Mr Stark?”

“He was at your apartment one afternoon right and offered you the internship, right?”

“Basically yes, but I don’t think I mentioned how much he was flirting with Aunt May?”

“Are you serious? Peter, that’s the first thing you should have mentioned!”

“Well they don’t exactly get along now, but Mr Stark loves flirting with her. I’m not really sure if he does it to bother me or if he’s actually into her.”

“Isn’t he engaged to Pepper Potts?”

“Yeah, but he still describes himself as a playboy. Pepper’s scary when she’s angry though so I don’t think he likes to really tick her off.”

“You’ve met Pepper?”

“Oh yeah! Did I not tell you? I see her every now and then when I’m at the Tower. She’s really busy though, so she’s not there very often.”

“I’m so jealous right now.”

“You’re not jealous that I’ve met Tony Stark, a literal superhero, an  _ Avenger _ , but you’re jealous that I’ve met Pepper Potts?”

“Well duh! It’s  _ Pepper Potts _ !”

“You hang out with MJ too much.”

“Dude, girl power. I’m not even sorry.”

“Oh actually, speaking of May-“

“Wow, that was a horrible attempt to change the subject.”

“Shh you. Speaking of May, she tried to set fire to the building again tonight.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. She was trying out this new recipe she found online. Next thing I know, the entire apartment is filled with smoke and every fire alarm is going off. I can still hear the ringing in my ears!”

“Jesus, May. Did the cute firefighter come, the one May thinks is cute?”

“Who, George? Nah, May says he’s taking a vacation with his family right now. Michael showed up though.”

“Ehh, Michael’s alright. He’s cute I guess, but he tries way too hard to be funny. Not my type.”

“And what’s your type?”

“My type is Pepper Potts. Speaking of which-”

“Nope, not doing this again!”

I was taking longer and longer to reply to him and I felt myself relaxing into my pillows. My phone had locked again at the point, no longer offering a pale glow, but the darkness of my room didn’t seem as threatening as it had before. I finally drifted off to sleep, Peter’s quiet voice just the lullaby I needed.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Mom and Dad were appropriately panicked when I told them what had happened. Mom cried when she gently touched the cut on my neck and Dad insisted on driving me to school, and that was after the long conversation we’d had where they’d tried to convince me to stay home for the day… or the week. 

Peter met me outside my apartment with a cheerful grin and an enthusiastic “Goooood morning!”. He made no mention of the night before, which I appreciated, instead spending the 20 minute walk to school by ranting about a new  _ Star Wars _ theory he’d read online. He kept interrupting himself with tangents, managing to forget what his point was every five minutes. It was a very welcome distraction though.

He managed to keep up the seemingly endless chatter throughout the entire school day, only silenced when we were in class (he totally let me copy off his maths homework). Peter was always fairly chatty, but this was another level. MJ and Ned were not oblivious to his altered behaviour either, but they never questioned him, just going along with it like this was totally normal for him. Not even Flash’s taunts and name calling was enough to bring him down.

Chemistry was our last class for the day and Peter sat with me at the back of the room, while Ned and MJ took the table in front of us. Mr Cobbwell was in the middle of a lecture, once again attempting to make the content interesting for teenagers. While I could applaud his intent, his execution didn’t quite hit the mark. 

I was not even close to paying attention, finding myself much more interested in doodling in the margins of my notebook as well as sneaking glances at my desk mate. He was much more focused than me, glancing up at Mr Cobbwell every now and then but mostly looking down at his notebook as he wrote his notes. Under the table, his left leg was bouncing vigorously and he somehow managed to not bounce the entire table with the movement, which was honestly impressive. 

Finally the important part of the lecture was over and Mr Cobbwell had begun marking his way around the room helping everyone who had questions. Peter flipped back through his book to check his notes before putting his pencil down on the table and resting his hand on his leg, which was still bouncing. 

I glanced once around the room, making sure no one was looking our direction, then I reached out and put my hand over his. He jumped slightly in his chair, looking down at our hands then up at me, a question in his eyes. I squeezed his hand tightly, trying to let him know how much I appreciated him and what he’d done for me without using any words. The soft smile appeared that appeared on his face and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners let me know that yes, he did understand. I went to pull my hand back, but Peter flipped his over and tangled his fingers with mine, holding me in place. This time, I looked at him curiously. He responded by squeezing my hand and smiling a little brighter. He looked back at his book, focusing on his notes once more, though his calm demeanour was thrown off somewhat by the tinges of red in his cheeks. It was only when the bell rang that he finally let go of my hand.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

That was the first day that Peter walked me home. His apartment was about 20 minutes from school, the same as mine, but my place definitely wasn’t just “on the way” for him. 

Peter had never been very good at just outright saying things, which I’d known for god knows how long, but I learned that he was also apparently really creative when it came to coming up with excuses for not letting me walk home alone. 

 

* * * * * * * *

 

“My horoscope said to not take the direct route home today.”

“Oh my, how ominous!”

“Right? And everyone knows those are always 100% accurate.”

“I mean, of course. Hey, what’s your star sign again?”

“You forgot my star sign?! What kind of friend are you?”

“Just for argument’s sake, Peter. Your star sign?”

“It’s… uhh… Sagi… orpi… us.”

“Sagi-orpi-us?”

“Yep, it’s the best star sign.”

“Or you know, it could be Leo?”

“... Yeah, that’s what I said.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

“Peter, don’t you usually go to Stark Tower for your internship on Wednesdays?”

“Nah, Stark Tower exploded yesterday.”

“Oh really? I would’ve thought something like that would have been on the news.”

“They kept it on the down low, you know?”

“Man, just tragic. So you’re out of a job?”

“Yep, my future has just gone down the toilet. I’m feeling quite depressed about it.”

“I’ll keep you company then, and you can always crash on my couch if you want.”

“Ahh, you’re so supportive!”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

“Did you see the news?”

“No. Why?”

“A giant mutant alligator crawled out of the sewers and is currently terrorising the streets.”

“Oh Jesus, sounds terrifying!”

“Absolutely. And it’s right on my way home!”

“How inconvenient. I suppose you’ll just have to come with me and find a different way home.”

“I suppose I will.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

“You know what I feel like today?”

“What do you feel like today, Peter?”

“Ice-cream. What’s that shop called near your place?”

“What, Baskin Robbins?”

“Yep, that one. Let’s go get ice-cream!”

“You had ice-cream at lunch. I don’t even know how you got it!”

“How dare you! There is no such thing as too much ice-cream.”

“Oh my god, fine. We’ll get ice-cream.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Time passed slowly, but it passed all the same. Walking home was a struggle at first, though Peter tried his hardest to make it easier for me with any distraction he could think of. The journey home did start to get better though. I also struggled with being in darkness for a while, my mind conjuring up images of that alley. For the first week, I slept with my laptop on, illuminating my room. Every day after that first week, I would turn the brightness down a single notch until it was turned off altogether. I still had moments of panic and fear, but Peter was a massive help.

Then one Friday, just over three weeks after the attack, Peter suddenly disappeared from school after lunch. I asked Ned and he said that Peter had been called home because of a family emergency. It wasn’t until I stood outside the school at 3pm that I realised what that meant.

I could feel my breathing picking up and with shaking hands, I pulled out my phone and quickly texted Peter. I didn’t want to make him feel guilty but I needed to talk to him.

 

**Me:** _ I miss my walking buddy :’( _

 

My eyes drifted shut for a few seconds as I tried to calm myself down, getting ready to make the walk home… by myself. I felt my phone buzz in my hand but before I could glance at it, I was distracted by the sound of my name being called.

A fancy black car was parked in front of the school (how did I miss that?) and a tall man wearing a black suit and dark glasses resting against it. And he was looking straight at me. He held out his hand and gestured for me to come closer. Every ‘Don’t talk to strangers’ speech I’d been given was echoing through my head, but I slowly made my way over to him.

“You’re Peter’s friend, right?” he asked, pulling his glasses down his nose so I could see his eyes.

“Umm… yes?” I answered, my voice quiet.

He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t sound sure about that.”

“I’m just a little confused. Who are you exactly?” I asked, holding my bag straps tightly.

“Peter said he’d message you that I was coming,” he sighed. “Did he forget? God knows he can’t make my life easier for once.”

I glanced down at my phone. “Oh wait, I do have a message from Peter.”

 

**Peter:** _ I’m sorry I’m not there! I sent a driver to pick you up though. Hope that makes up for it! _

 

After the text, he’d sent a selfie of him and the man in front of me, although suit dude didn’t exactly look very happy to be in the picture. I held the phone out for the man to see.

“So, you ready to go?” he asked, opening of the car’s doors. He didn’t seem too frustrated yet, but I knew he was getting a little impatient.

I nodded and stepped into the car, the door slamming shut behind me. The inside of the car was as dark as the exterior, complete with expensive looking dark leather seats and very tinted windows. The divider between the front and back seats was open and I watched as the man got in the car and moved us into traffic.

“So umm… who are you, exactly?” I asked, clipping my seatbelt in.

“My name is Happy Hogan and I’m Head of Security for Stark Industries as well as Tony Stark’s personal driver,” he explained, glancing at me in the rear view mirror.

My eyes grew a little wider. “Wait… you work for Tony Stark?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why are you picking a high schooler up from school?” I realised after the question came out that that had probably not been the best way to ask that.

“I keep an eye on Peter as well. He’s Tony’s intern and he needs to be protected,” Happy said, chuckling quietly. “I owed the kid a favour and Peter asked me to drop you off at home. He sent me a picture of you so I’d know who to look out for.”

I nodded slowly. I hadn’t given much thought to how important or even dangerous Peter’s role as Tony Stark’s intern was, and I made a note to myself to ask Peter about it when I got the chance.

Traffic was terrible, but the 8 minute drive home was much better than the daunting walk home I’d been faced with. After the sort of interrogation I’d given Happy, I’d spent the drive silently, staring out the window and examining the  _ terrifyingly _ expensive looking interior of the car. Seriously. A flat-screen TV and a fully stocked mini fridge in a car? For Tony Stark, I guess that was normal.

There were no spaces to park when we arrived at my apartment so he just pulled up in the middle of the street and we were immediately met with loud honking from the cars behind him. I hurriedly threw the door open and scrambled out of the car, hating the attention.

“Hey Peter’s friend,” Happy called out. I paused in my not-so-elegant attempt to leave and looked at him through the front window that Happy had wound down. “Tell Peter that you’re a way better passenger than he is. You actually know how to be quiet.”

I laughed, giving him a wave. “I’ll definitely do that! Thanks, Happy.”

“See you later, kid.”

He drove off and I tried to ignore the glares the drivers after him threw my way. I hopped up the stairs and into the apartment, greeting my neighbour as I passed him in the hallway. The apartment was empty and I dropped my bag on the floor and collapsed on my bed. 

 

**Me:** _Hey, Happy says that I’m his favourite because you never shut up. Lol your limo driver likes me better than you and he’s only met me once._

 

I pulled out my chemistry homework and got started on it. Or I did for about five minutes before I was distracted by playing a game on my phone. My game was interrupted a few minutes after that by an incoming text.

 

**Peter:** _That traitor! D:_

**Peter:** _So you got home safe?_

 

**Me:** _ Yes, but you didn’t have to send a limo! I do appreciate it though, I’m lucky to have you. _

 

**Peter:** _Of course I had to send a car! It’s my job to protect you and I couldn’t be there to do my job today. Sorry about that, by the way!_

 

I took a few minutes to reply to that message because my heart seemed to be doing very enthusiastic backflips, which totally had nothing to do with his text… totally nothing… at all.

 

**Me:** _You’re the sweetest <3 _

**_Me:_ ** _ You up for a sleepover at my place tomorrow? Mom and Dad are leaving on a business trip tomorrow morning and they said they’re cool with you staying over if you want! _

 

**Peter:** _Oh I’m down. Batman marathon? I’ll bring the popcorn!_

 

**Me:** _ Hell yeah! _

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Peter arrived at my apartment just before 3. May had needed him for something in the morning and she’d made sure Peter had all his homework finished before he came over.

“After all that work, I’m ready for a few hours of not thinking,” he groaned, collapsing onto my bed.

“Well I think that three solid movies worth of Batman action are the perfect cure for an over-homeworked brain,” I laughed. “It’s a Christopher Nolan approved treatment.”

“Hmm… he hasn’t steered me wrong so far,” Peter nodded. “Bring on the action!”

He set up my laptop to watch the movies on while I sorted out the popcorn. 

“Hey Pete!” I called out as I dumped it into a bowl. “I don’t think this is three movies worth of popcorn.”

“It is if you eat it  _ reeeaaally _ slowly,” he called back.

I rolled my eyes at him and walked back into my room. The movie was ready to go and he sat waiting for me on the bed, his trademark grin on his face. I handed him the popcorn.

“You know we could have watched this out in the lounge room, right?” I asked. “The TV is a way bigger screen than my laptop.”

“Your bed is way more comfortable than the couch,” he said, shaking his head. “Plus with your curtains making the room so dark, it’s like a mini cinema!”

“Fair enough!”

I hit play and sat next to him on the bed, our backs resting against the padded headboard. He was sitting close enough to me that our arms were pressed together and I felt my cheeks flush. This was probably the billionth time we’d watched movies together in my bed, but this time felt… different somehow.

As I’d predicted, the popcorn did not last the entire marathon. In fact, it didn’t even last the entire first movie. The light peeking through the edges of my curtains began as we finished the first movie and moved onto the second. Despite the loud action of the movie, I felt my eyes growing heavier.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

It was much darker and much quieter when I woke up, the only light coming from the laptop. I yawned loudly, and went to stretch. It was only when I felt my pillow move… oh okay, not a pillow. Peter lifted his head off mine and I heard him mumbling, attempting to wake up. I moved my head off his shoulder and looked at him in the dim lighting. His mouth was wide in a yawn and he blinked a few times, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

“Was my head comfortable?” I asked, blushing slightly.

He chuckled. He sounded embarrassed. “I’d say it was more comfortable than my shoulder was.”

“Hey! No insulting my pillow.” I stretched, hearing my joints protest at the movement. “What time is it anyway?”

He checked his phone. “8:15. I can’t believe we fell asleep and missed Heath Ledger. That’s practically a crime.”

“You know what’s worse? We can’t even stay awake through a whole marathon anymore,” I told him. “We’re old now.”

“Oh god,” he gasped. “You’re right! This is horrible!”

I sighed. “It’s all downhill from here.”

We were silent for a few seconds, mourning our lost youth.

“Hey, do you want pizza?” he asked. 

I nodded. “Hell yeah.”

Twenty minutes later, we were happily eating pizza and had just started the final movie of the marathon. In the time it had taken for the pizza to arrive, we’d dragged out the air mattress and set it up on the ground next to my bed. Peter was now sitting on that and leaning against the side of my mattress, while I lay on my stomach on my bed.

“Bane’s plan always seemed way too complicated,” I pointed out. “Why lure all the cops underground and then just leave them there? If you want them out of the way, wouldn’t you just kill them?”

“Shhh, stop analysing and just watch,” Peter groaned.

“We’ve seen this movie like three times,” I protested. “I am entitled to my criticisms.”

He buried his face in my blankets, his words coming out muffled. “You’re literally the worst.”

“You love me,” I laughed, going red for the hundredth time that evening after I realised what I’d said.

Peter didn’t reply and just quietly laughed. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, smiling shyly. As the movie went on, I found myself watching his reactions way more than the film itself. When it finally finished, I put away my laptop and we talked for a while before calling it a night just after midnight. My god, we have become old.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

_ Chilling coldness contrasted with the horrible heat of his body and his panting breaths against my skin. Light glinting off the menacing blade he held against my throat. His hands change from just wandering to ripping and tearing at my clothing, all semblance of patience gone. Any cry or yell I attempt makes no sound and I hear him laugh at my attempts. Crowds of people walk past, uncaring to the abuse happening mere feet away from them. No one is coming… no one is coming... _

“...up. Hey, It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve got you. Just wake up, you’re alright.”

I jolted upright, my heart pounding and my breathing hard. My eyes scanned rapidly around the dark room and I let out a squeak of fear as I saw a figure next to me.

“Hey, it’s me. It’s Peter. You’re safe,” he was saying.

_ Peter _ . Oh god, Peter had just watched me have a nightmare. He reached over and turned on my lamp and we both cringed away from the sudden light. I groaned weakly, covering my face with my hands. It had been a few days since my last one, I had thought I’d been getting better.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m fine.”

“God, don’t apologise,” he sighed. “Can I sit next to you? Is it alright if I touch you?”

I nodded and he sat next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I leaned into him, his familiar voice and smell calming my heart rate.

“There you go, you’re safe,” he soothed, his fingers tracing shapes against my arm. “I’ve got you.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled, feeling the embarrassment set in now that I was calm. “I’d hoped you wouldn’t see anything like that.”

“Well, I’m glad I was here,” he countered. “I hate the idea of you going through that alone.”

“I thought I’d gotten over them,” I huffed, my frustration evident in my voice.

“Hey, what you went through was really scary. No one expects you to bounce back right away,” he said. “I wish it had never happened though. I should have protected you.”

I looked over at him, my brow furrowed in confusion. “You know, it’s really not your job to protect me, Peter.”

“It is though, I have to keep you safe. If I’d gotten there sooner, you would have never had to deal with this at all,” he replied, clearly frustrated with himself.

I opened my mouth to speak, then stopped, thinking over what he’d said. “Peter… what do you mean ‘if you’d gotten there sooner’?”

Peter’s body went very still, his eyes wide and his mouth falling open. His breathing sped up and he clenched his hands into fists, the skin growing paler every second from how tightly he was gripping them. I reached out quickly, gently forcing his hands open. Already, he had deep fingernail shaped dents in his palm and I held his hands so he couldn’t clench them again.

“Mr Stark is going to kill me,” he mumbled, his words almost inaudible. 

“What does Tony Stark have to do with this? Peter… please.” I wasn’t even sure what I was really asking for, but it was obvious that he was hurting.

His eyes lifted up to meet mine and I was stunned by the amount of anxiety I saw in his face. He just looked at me for a while, clearly struggling to find the right words, before he pulled out of my grip and stood up, pushing the mattress on the floor to the side of the room with his foot. Peter started pacing around my small room, his hands reaching up to tangle themselves into his hair. I stayed on the bed, my fingers gripping the sheets tightly, and waited for him to calm down.

Finally, after four laps around my room, he stopped walking and leaned against my desk, his arms braced on the dark wood. He looked  _ exhausted _ , like all the fight had suddenly left him and he could barely hold himself up anymore. His lips started forming words, but I could hear him.

“Peter?” My voice was barely above a whisper.

He took a deep breath and looked up at me. “I was supposed to be there for you… and I wasn’t.”

“Pete… Peter, it’s not your job to protect me,” I repeated. “It was nowhere even close to being your fault.”

He laughed, a sad and hollow sounding laugh. “You don’t understand… It  _ is _ my job to protect people. It may a job I’ve given myself, but it’s still  _ my _ job.”

“Why?” I was almost pleading at this point. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and I tried to will them away.

He swallowed, clearly hesitating. Then a strange look appeared on his face. It was a determined look, I recognised that glint in his eyes. But it also looked like he was disappointed with himself.

“It’s my job because… because I’m Spider-Man,” he finally said. 

Silence was the only response that followed his confession. He looked at me, waiting for some kind of reaction. I looked at him, trying to find any words to make a sentence.

“Umm… I was expecting more than that honestly,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What did you expect, Pete?” I asked, shrugging. “I get it if you don’t want to talk about what’s really wrong, but please don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying!” he insisted, pushing himself up off the desk. “Why would I lie about something like that?”

“You expect me to believe that you’re Spider-Man?” I knew that I was sounding like a bitch, but it was just impossible. “You can’t be Spider-Man… you’re Peter.”

“Hey! Peter could be Spider-Man! Peter  _ is _ … I mean, I  _ am _ Spider-Man,” he stuttered, almost looking offended at this point.

I sighed, frustrated. “I didn’t mean that as an insult, Peter! I just… it’s not possible.”

“Do I need to prove it?” he asked, taking a deep breath when I nodded. “Umm… o-okay.”

He looked at my curtains, making sure the dark fabric was completely covering the window. Then he glanced around my room and made his way over to the only part of the room that didn’t have posters or furniture blocking it, and without a second thought, started to climb up onto the wall. My jaw dropped as he scaled the wall and crawled upside down across the ceiling. Peter glanced down at me, his brunette curls bouncing as his head moved.

“Believe me now?” he laughed, the first smile on his face in what seemed like forever.

My mind was going a million miles an hour. “My best friend is Spider-Man… Spider-Man is hanging from my ceiling…”

“That is what’s happening right now, yes.”

I let myself fall backwards, the springs in my bed protesting as I landed. A soft thump let me know that Peter-Man… Spider-Parker… Peter had made it back to the ground. He walked over to my collapsed form, close enough that I could see him but far enough away that I couldn’t reach out and touch him.

“You okay?”

“Oh, you know. Just found out my best friend is an Avenger. Typical day,” I replied, my eyes locked on the ceiling.

“Actually, I’m not an Avenger,” he corrected, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck. “Mr Stark asked me, but I said no.”

Now I looked at him, my eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief. “Wait… You turned down being an  _ Avenger _ ?”

“Well yeah. If I’d said yes, then I’d never be around,” he shrugged, a faint blush on his cheeks. “And I’d never get to go to school anymore. Or see you… or Ned or MJ.”

I sat up and stared down at my clasped hands. “Oh… right,” I said.

“Plus, I think I’d have to go public with the whole I’m Spider-Man thing because of the whole Accords business and I’m definitely not ready for that.”

It took a second until I remembered what he was talking about, then I slowly nodded. “Yeah, that seems like it would be kind of dangerous for you.”

“It wouldn’t be me I’d be worried about,” he sighed, slumping down on the bed next to me. “People could go after May, Ned, MJ… and you as well. It’s dangerous to be… friends… with a superhero.”

“Okay…” I said slowly. “Well, aside from me, who knows about this?”

“Ned and May know… and Mr Stark of course,” he answered.

“You told Ned about this and not me?” I tried to not feel hurt by that, but the pain was still there.

“No! Uhh… well… I mean, it was an accident,” he stammered. “I really didn’t mean for him to find out.”

“So… it’s not that you wanted to keep it from just  _ me _ ?” I asked, feeling way too vulnerable.

His eyes softened. “No, of course not. I didn’t want anyone… you … to be hurt. If you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of fond of you.”

My face flushed again, at this point I was sure it was just permanently red, and I stared down at my fidgeting fingers. I could see him looking away from me as well, an interesting blush on his cheeks as well. Could it be possible that he…? No. He probably was still getting over Liz. Or he could have his eyes on MJ now; they’d known each other for basically forever so it would make sense. 

Finally, another question popped into my head. “Wait… in the alley… how did I not recognise your voice?”

He startled a little at my voice. “Huh? Oh… I asked Karen to disguise my voice when I saw you…”

“Karen?”

“My suit’s AI. I named her after Plankton’s wife,” he explained.

His answer brought a massive grin to my lips. “Oh my god, you’re a nerd!”

“You act like that’s new information!” he cried.

His pouting face made me laugh even harder. He held his pout for a few seconds before he broke, joining me in laughter. Once the laughing had quieted down, he reached over and put his hand over mine.

“For what it’s worth, I really am sorry I didn’t tell you,” he said quietly, squeezing my hand. “I don’t like keeping things from you.”

I shook my head. “No. No, I understand. It hurt to feel like you were keeping things from me, but I get why you did it now.”

“It wasn’t fun. I missed Homecoming because of this bad guy. That’s part of the reason I said no about being an Avenger,” he admitted. “I wanted to be a kid for a while longer.”

“How’d it happen anyway?” I asked, turning my head to look at him. “You can’t have always had these powers.”

“Radioactive spider bite.” 

My face went pale and I muttered, “nope, nope”. He chuckled at my reaction.

“Yeah, that  _ sucked _ ,” he agreed, shuddering a bit as he remembered. “That was about a year ago now, I think.”

“Yeah, nope. Not worth it,” I groaned. “Not even for superpowers.”

“I didn’t exactly get a say,” he pointed out. “The spider didn’t ask my opinion on the whole thing.”

“Well… if you’d had a choice, would you still have been bitten?” I asked.

He was quiet for a minute, his head tilted back against the wall so he could stare at the ceiling. “I… I think I would. Yeah, it’s made my life more complicated, but… I can help people now. You know, people who can’t help themselves.”

“Ahh, you noble soul, you,” I sighed. “Always looking out for the little guy.”

“That’s pretty much it, yeah,” he chuckled.

“So… I’m kind of exhausted from the life-changing information I just got,” I said, suppressing a yawn. “I think I’m going to try and sleep again.”

“Probably a good idea,” he nodded.

He got off the bed and moved his mattress back in place. Once he was under the covers, I turned the light off. 

“Goodnight,” he whispered.

“Night Peter, I whispered back.

After a few minutes of silence, I reached down and put my hand on his, feeling his fingers curl around mine. My lips curled up into a smile. That night, I didn’t have any more nightmares.


	2. The Confession

It surprised me how little things changed once I knew Peter’s secret. He would quietly tell me funny or interesting things that happened to him while he was patrolling and I’d occasionally hand him snacks through my window as he swung by, because he told me that with his new metabolism he needed to eat more than he did before.

Aside from that though, Peter was still Peter. He still geeked out over Star Wars with Ned, still put up with Flash’s bullying, still was the subject of an occasional crisis drawing by MJ, and he still was my best friend. I wondered how nobody put together the fact that Spider-Man was almost never spotted during school hours or that  _ Iron Man _ just so happened to take on a personal intern for the first time ever just after Spider-Man first appeared (but then I would remember that  _ I’d _ never put those things together either). 

Spider-Man didn’t have too heavy a workload to deal with: a few stolen handbags and wallets, one very poor attempt at a bank robbery (seriously, the guy didn’t even have a gun, instead using a water gun disguised as an actual pistol), and one case of grand theft auto. He did get another churro from that nice old lady though, which he gave me a bite of.

I also got to meet Tony Stark one afternoon when he and Happy pulled up outside of the school to pick Peter up for the “internship” (which I learned wasn’t an official internship, but was actually Peter and Mr Stark working on their suits and other Avenger tech together). Peter asked him if it was alright to drop me off at my apartment before heading to the Avenger Tower ( _ the Avenger Tower!!! _ ) which Mr Stark was fine with. I totally didn’t even fangirl, I totally kept my composure (okay, it’s possible that maybe I freaked out a little). Mr Stark learned that I was the friend who’d been told about the Spidey secret, but to my relief he didn’t seem that mad about it. He did stress the importance of keeping it a secret, but I was aware of that already.

Things were going so well that it really shouldn’t have been so surprising when something happened.

  
  


* * * * * * * *

 

It was an unusually humid day and I pulled my train ticket out of my bag, fanning myself with the thin paper. The stone wall was cool against my back as I rested against it, off to the side of the terminal. Large crowds of people bustled around me, their chatter a constant buzz in my ears. At that moment, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, a chipper tone announcing a new text message.

 

**Ned:** _ What time does the train leave?  _

**Ned:** _ I’m running kinda late _

 

 **MJ:** _Shocking_

 

 **Me:** _You’re late too, MJ. I’ve been waiting here for ten minutes already_

 **Me:** _I’ve read all of the pamphlets_

 

 **Peter:** _Any interesting facts?_

 

**Me:** _ The terminal alone cost $43 million to build, the equivalent of about $1 billion today _

 

 **MJ:** _He asked for an interesting fact_

 

 **Me:** _Hey, I didn’t have any choice in my reading material_

 **Me:** _Like… none of you are here. I’m lonely. I’m not going by myself_

 

 **MJ:** _I’m coming, I’m coming. The taxi just dropped me off. I’m like ten minutes away. I’m just walking slowly. On purpose._

 **MJ:** _Really slowly_

 

 **Me:** _Less talking, more walking_

 

 **Ned:** _Why do we have to go all the way to Grand Central? It’s so far out of the way!_

 

 **Me:** _Apparently we’re being “tourists for the day”_

 

**Peter:** _ Shh, it’s gonna be awesome _

 

 **MJ:** _Your driver is dropping you off! Why couldn’t he just give us a ride out to Coney Island instead of making us take the train?_

 

**Peter:** _ Because that’s not the true tourist experience! _

**Peter:** _And Mr Stark and Happy are busy for the rest of the day. They only had time to drop me off_

 

 **MJ:** _Must be nice to have a billionaire as a dad_

 

 **Peter:** _He’s not my dad! He’s my mentor_

 

 **Ned:** _He’s totally your dad, Peter_

 

**Me:** _ Leave him alone guys. He can’t help it that Tony Stark has basically adopted him at this point _

 

 **Peter:** _Oh my god, all of you suck_

 

 **Me:** _Twenty minutes til the train leaves_

 **Me:** _Hurry your butts up_

 

A loud scream caught my attention and I looked up from my phone, my eyes starting to scan the area. My blood ran cold.

Three men in balaclavas stood at the bottom of the staircase, very real looking rifles in their hands. Their chests were covered with thick vests that I would guess were bulletproof. Two more men appeared from different tunnels of the terminal, pulling guns from their jackets and pointing them at people around them. 

“Alright everyone!” One of the men over at the staircase yelled out, stretching out his arms like he was about to give a speech. “Most of you get to go free. We’ll be keeping a few of you for something fun.

Immediately I glanced down at my phone where Ned, MJ and Peter were still bickering.

 

 **Me:** _DON’T COME! STAY AWAY!_

 

I shoved it into my bag quickly before any of the gunmen could see me. When I looked up, the other four men were pointing to people in the crowd, forcing them over to where the man who had spoken was standing, their leader apparently. 

My heart stopped as one of them glanced in my direction, their hand coming up to point directly at me. My legs locked up, ignoring my mental yelling for them to just move already. I saw the man’s eyes narrow and he raised the gun at me then jerked it towards the group they’d selected. The gun seemed to be enough to break through my frozen state and I jerked myself forward, collapsing next to a pregnant woman. She looked absolutely terrified, her hands resting on her stomach. On her shirt was a sticker name tag that read ‘Heather’.

“Not bad picks, gentlemen,” the leader praised, eyeing our cowered forms. He turned back to the rest of the crowd. “Everyone else, get the fuck out.”

They all ran for the doors, motivated further by the sound of gunshots from behind them. Once the crowd had dispersed, we were forced into the centre of the room and down onto the floor. We weren’t tied up, but I had no idea how trigger happy these guys were. From a quick glance around, it looked like they’d taken twenty of us. There were about four older people, two young children and the rest was made up of adults. I was the only teenager. I spotted one ‘I <3 NY’ shirt.

The gunmen moved around the terminal, slamming shut the gates to the underground, cutting off possible escape routes and any way that rescue could have snuck into the building. As they moved around the space, I noticed that each of them wore different coloured converse. Blue, red, orange and green. Leader’s were black. I pulled my knees up to my chest, curled my arms around my legs and waited. Heather let out a quiet whimper. Not long after, we heard the sirens.

“Show time,” the leader muttered, turning to face us. He raised his voice so we could all hear him. “Now, do any of you have anyone outside waiting for you?”

No one answered. We all glanced at each other nervously. There was zero chance I was telling him about my friends who had to be outside by now. Then something in my brain clicked. Peter had mentioned that Mr Stark had been driving him to the terminal. Peter had been with freaking  _ Iron Man _ when I’d sent the warning.

“I’m waiting,” he growled, impatiently. A young woman on the other side of the group slowly raised her hand. He stared at her. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“M-my boyfriend was meeting me here. He should be outside,” she offered, her body visibly shaking.

“Good. Does he have a phone on him?” When she nodded, he walked over to her. “Perfect. Now give me your phone.”

Two guns were pointed at her as she reached into her bag. She fumbled it a few times, but finally she managed to hand it over to him. He stared down at it, thumbing at the screen.

“Aww, adorable,” he mocked. “She has him as ‘Love Bug’ in here.”

The woman’s face flushed and her eyes welled with tears. The old woman sitting next to her reached out and grabbed the lady’s hand. He put the phone on speaker and we all listened to the dial tone until his call was answered.

“Isabelle?” The man’s voice was frantic. “Isabelle, honey, are you okay?”

“I’m sorry, dear Isabelle can’t come to the phone right now,” the leader chuckled. “She’s a little… tied up right now.”

“Please! Please, don’t hurt her,” Isabelle’s boyfriend begged.

“Oh ‘Love Bug’. She’ll be fine if you do as I say,” he replied. “Hand this phone over to the nearest cop.”

“Okay, okay.” The sound of his walking carried through the speaker and we heard the muffled conversation as he handed the phone over to an officer.

“Who is this?” The officer’s voice was rough and very agitated.

Leader’s voice hardened. “I’m the man with a heavily armed crew and twenty hostages. I’d take a bit more care with how you speak to me.”

The officer sighed. “Okay. What are your demands?”

“That’s better,” Leader praised. “And as for my demands… I want Spider-Man here.”

“You  _ want _ Spider-Man here?” The man sounded very confused.

“Did I stutter?” Leader barked out a laugh. “If he’s not here in ten minutes, well… there’s a lovely looking pregnant woman here who will get a bullet to the stomach.”

Heather let out a strangled gasp, dropping her head down and pulling her legs in to make herself seem as small as possible. Leader started circling the group, his walk slow and casual, like he was enjoying himself.

“Alright, we’ll try to get in contact with him,” the officer agreed.

“I’d do better than ‘try’,” Leader warned. 

He muted his end of the call, continuing his stroll. The five men surrounded us, their guns ready. They glanced between us and the door, where we could hear the worried chatter of the crowd outside as well as the police. The armed men’s movements were reflected off the shiny stone floor. 

Several minutes later, a different voice came through the phone. “Are you there?”

Leader unsuited the call. “Is he there?”

“Uhh, Spider-Man no,” the man replied. “I’ve been doing this business a bit longer than he has.”

Leader growled, his free hand clenching into a tight fist. “I didn’t ask for  _ Iron Man _ . I asked for  _ Spider-Man _ .”

“Spider-Man isn’t in the area right now. I figured I was experienced enough to handle this one for him,” Stark said.

“I believe I told that cop that if the spider wasn’t here in ten minutes, I’d shoot the pregnant bitch,” Leader seethed. “I have a gun pointed at her head right now.”

The nearest gunmen, Red, moved over to Heather, his gun aimed right at her temple. She tried to stay silent, but small sobs escaped her throat as tears ran down her cheeks.

Stark stayed remarkably calm though. “There’s no need for that. I’m way better company than Spider-Man anyway. C’mon, let’s be friends.”

Leader didn’t respond for a few seconds, still simmering in anger, but his demeanour suddenly changed.

“Alright, I’ll talk to you, Iron Man,” he relented. “This might work out better anyway.”

“What do you want?” Stark asked.

“I want you to give me and my crew all of your tech. Yours, Spider-Man’s, the Avengers. All of it,” Leader demanded.

Stark let out a low whistle. “Man! That is quite the ask.”

“If you want these people to live, you’ll do it.”

“The issue is… my suits are calibrated to me, so they wouldn’t work for you,” Stark explained.

“Then you will make me and my men suits!”

“Hmm… I’ve done the whole ‘making weapons for bad guys’ thing before,” Stark mused. “It didn’t really end well for them.”

“Are you threatening me?” Leader growled.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it!” Ahh, Tony Stark. The picture of innocence.

The hostages glanced nervously at each other. On one hand, it was reassuring that Iron Man was outside and involved in the situation. On the other, Tony Stark wasn’t the most calming of people and Leader already seemed very short-tempered.

The thugs might not know that Spider-Man was absolutely in the area, but I did. And that thought scared me more than anything. This wasn’t a douchebag mugger in an alley armed with only a knife. This was a planned attack by five men with a lot of guns. And last time I checked, spiders weren’t immune to bullets.

“Look, I’m totally okay to negotiate on the Avengers tech,” Stark said.

“Negotiate? No, you’re giving me all of it.”

“I’m fine with you getting Cap’s shield, Frosty’s arm, Legolas’ bow and bird boy’s wings.”

“ _ All of it! _ ” Leader yelled. 

“Hey man, relationships are about give and take.”

Well… my life hasn’t been too bad. It kinda sucked that it was about to end, but at least it wouldn’t be a boring death.

Red and Orange looked a lot less confident now than they did twenty minutes ago. Green didn’t look as concerned, but he didn’t seem to be listening to the attempts at negotiation. Blue seemed on edge, his finger twitching uncomfortably close to the trigger. Isabelle and the old woman had their foreheads pressed together and the old woman seemed to be muttering quietly, most likely praying. Heather’s eyes were closed and she rubbed small circles on her belly. To my left, the two small children clutched each other’s hands tightly and the tourist in the NY shirt attempted to distract them with a game of I Spy. 

“I spy… something starting with S,” the tourist whispered.

The two children looked around, trying to spot whatever the object was. The young girl’s tilted her head up to look at the ceiling, her eyes grew wide.

“Spider-Man,” she breathed. 

My first reaction was to jerk my head up to find him, but I forced myself to stay still. I watched the little girl; she lifted her hand and held a finger against her lips. I’d never seen a child look so serious. The tourist realised what was happening and pulled the children towards her, hiding their eyes and she quietly began telling them a story. Thankfully no one else seemed to have noticed the interaction between the small child and the young superhero on the ceiling.

“That’s it!” Leader roared. “Apparently you  _ want _ these hostages to fucking die!”

“Not at all,” Stark disagreed. “I just want to iron out all the details first.”

“Puns aren’t helping reduce my urge to murder,” Leader growled.

“Huh? What pun?” Stark asked, confused. “Oh fuck… that was not intentional. Ahh, honestly I’m disappointed in myself.”

“Yeah well, these hostages are going to be plenty disappointed in you when they’re dead,” Leader hissed, stopping his stroll just behind me.

“Doesn’t really make sense, but I get it,” Stark relented. “Let’s get this show on the road then.”

“Get started?” Leader asked.

Red didn’t even have time to yell before he was shoved backwards and webbed to the stone wall. Spider-Man landed silently (and totally heroically) on the ground between him and our group on the floor. The remaining four men immediately started firing. Peter shot a web and swung out of the way. The glass archway at the entrance of the terminal shattered as Iron Man flew into the building.

Our group of hostages ducked our heads and got as low to the ground as possible. Bullets shot past just above us. The children started to cry, their hands pressed tightly over their ears. Combined with the sirens outside, the roar of Iron Man’s thrusters and the gunfire, I could barely think.

Orange and Green leapt out of the way as Iron Man flew over them. Blue attempted to get to cover, but Spider-Man had him in his sights. Blue’s body started jerking uncontrollably when he was hit by what I assume was the taser web Peter had told me about. Blue collapsed to the ground, still twitching, and Peter webbed him to the floor. Iron Man flew past again, clipping Orange with his shoulder and throwing the thug across the ground. Orange landed with a loud thud and didn’t move. Green stared with wide eyes. Finally, he dropped his gun and dropped to his knees, his hands behind his head.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me to my feet. My pained cry was cut off by an arm wrapping around my throat. I felt the cold metal of a gun against my temple.

“Run,” Iron Man ordered, landing next to the other hostages. “Get to safety.”

They didn’t hesitate, immediately getting up and sprinting for the exit. Spider-Man dropped to the floor next to his mentor, his whole body tense. I shook my head, trying to keep the movement as small as possible. I silently begged him not to do anything stupid.

“So relationships are about give and take, but lying is totally fine, huh?” Leader chuckled darkly. “You told me Spider-boy wasn’t in the area.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’re gonna work out,” Iron Man said. “I’m really torn up about it.”

“You’re going to let me leave. If I’m followed, I will kill her,” he threatened. “Once I’m in the clear, I might let her go.”

“Take the guy who surrendered out to the cops.” Peter didn’t look away from Leader, his voice hard despite the very slight shake I could see in his hands.

“You sure?” the metal clad hero asked.

“I am.”

Iron Man glanced once more at Leader and I. Then he activated his thrusters, grabbed Green by his bulletproof jacket and flew them both out of the building.

“You’re not going to convince me to surrender like that coward,” Leader sneered.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to,” Peter admitted, shrugging.

“Then why are we doing this?” Leader demanded. “You should be working on getting me a car.”

“I’m here to make sure that she’s safe,” Peter said. “That’s all.”

It was weird to see Peter in full on Spider-Man mode. I’d seen him when he’d dealt with the mugger, of course, but this was much different. This was a man who’d most likely been planning this attack for a long time and now that it had failed, he had nothing to lose. And Peter knew that.

I didn’t know if Leader was completely fine with shooting someone. He’d threatened it enough in the last half hour, but he’d never actually gone through with it. I had to do something though. There was no way I was going anywhere with him, especially since he’d mentioned keeping me afterwards.

God, Peter was going to kill me.

As the two of them spoke, I realised that he wasn’t expecting a fight from me. The eyes on Peter’s suit widened when he saw the determined look on my face. I spread my legs slightly and then yanked my weight down as hard as I could. He stumbled forward. His body folded over mine and I could feel the panic rising in my chest, but it was overshadowed by the relief as the cold metal disappeared from my temple.

Peter flung his arm forward, his web connecting to the thug’s wrist. Peter yanked hard and Leader staggered, the gun flying from his hand. He couldn’t keep his grip on me and I collapsed on the ground, my heart pounding scarily fast. Leader yelled out in shock, but was silenced by Peter’s fist colliding with his face. The young hero only relaxed when he saw that Leader didn’t get up again. He stood silently, taking slow and deep breaths. I pushed myself to my feet.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my brow furrowing in concern.

He jerked his head over to look at me, the mask’s eyes comically wide. “ _ Am I okay _ ? You were just held hostage and you’re asking if I’m okay?”

“Umm… yes.”

He shook his head, choking out a laugh that sounded painful. The sound of thrusters pulled my attention to the entrance of the terminal. Iron Man flew back inside and landed next to us. The suit pulled back to reveal Tony Stark’s frowning face.

“Kid, what happened to the plan?” the billionaire asked. “You were supposed to take out the thugs one by one, not take them all on at once.”

“I couldn’t do that when they were all in eye contact of each other!” Peter protested. “They would have noticed straight away if there was suddenly one less of them.”

“I guess I’ll give you that one,” he nodded. “Hey… other kid, you doing alright?”

I gave him a tentative smile. “A little shaken up, but I’ll be fine. Thank you Mr Stark.”

“You should probably talk to the police, give them your statement and all that,” Mr Stark said.

I sighed, feeling the exhaustion weighing down on me. “I probably should. I guess we’re not heading out to Coney Island today then, huh?”

“I don’t think so,” Peter chuckled. “Next time, let’s just all get a ride with Happy.”

“God yes.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Talking to the police felt like it took forever. Everyone looks about as tired as I was. The area outside the terminal was still very crowded. As I glanced around, I saw a few familiar faces: Isabelle tightly gripping the hand of what I assumed was her boyfriend; Heather taking sitting on a nearby bench, taking small sips from a water bottle and talking with a paramedic; and the two small children regaling a friendly looking police officer with the harrowing tale of their experience.

Mr Stark had left a while ago after he’d told his story. He was thirty minutes late to an important meeting because of the situation, but he hadn’t seemed too stressed about being behind schedule. Peter lingered in the area, taking care to speak with everyone who’d been trapped inside, rather than just me, so as to not seem suspicious. Very quietly, he asked me to go over to his house later so that we could speak properly.

When I got home ( _ finally!!!) _ , my parents immediately jumped on me with questions, half about whether or not I was truly okay and half about what had actually gone down. It took all of my patience not to snap at them, but I managed. They were just scared for my safety, I told myself. My request to go to Peter’s house was vehemently rejected at first, but after much begging and convincing, they said I could go, as long as I was home before 9. They insisted on driving me there and picking me up though, which I had zero problems with.

The sun was on the brink of setting when I finally made it to his house. May was working the night shift, so it would be just the two of us in the small apartment for a few hours.

 

 **Me:** _I’m outside_

 

 **Peter:** _Door’s open_

 

I found Peter in his room, tapping away at his computer. He looked up when I came in. He looked very tired, but he still smiled at me.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hi, Pete. You know, it’s not very safe to leave your door unlocked,” I reprimanded him teasingly.

“Doesn’t seem like anything is safe anymore,” he sighed.

He spun his chair around and propped his sock-clad feet up on his bed, his hands folded together.

I leaned against his wall, chuckling quietly. “Well, we live in New York. There’s pretty much always danger.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better!” That seemed to be his breaking point.  His hands paled from how hard he was holding them and he cursed quietly.

My lips pulled down into a frown. “Peter…”

“I can’t lose you! I… I can’t…” he broke off, his eyes locked on mine. The fear and desperation in his gaze broke my heart. “Look, I really like you, okay. I’ve liked you for a long time.”

My breath caught in my throat and I took a second to calm down. “I like you too, Peter. It was killing me not to tell you.”

“Y-you do?” 

The fact that he sounded surprised by that was astounding to me. I hadn’t exactly hidden my feelings very well. “Of course I do! How could I not?”

“I could think of a few reasons…” he sighed, looking away from me.

“You’re the first person I think about when I have a bad day; I want to call you and hear your voice and have you distract me from the bad. You’re the first person I think about when I have a good day; I want to share all of that with you so I can see that perfect smile you get when you know I’m happy.” The words came easily to me and it was so wonderful to finally tell him exactly how I felt, despite the heat I could feel in my cheeks. “You’re the kindest, most compassionate person I know. Your smile makes my heart do backflips and your laugh sometimes makes it stop altogether.  _ And _ you make me go on rants about all the reasons I like you because, for some godforsaken reason, you can’t see all those reasons yourself.”

His eyes were wide as he stared at me in shock. It took him a little while to find his words again. “All of that… you have to know that it means the world to me… but… fuck! Do you have any idea what it would have done to me if you’d gotten shot back there? If you’d gotten hurt because of me?”

“Even if I had been hurt, it wouldn’t have been because of you, Peter.” I highly doubted I would be able to convince him. He was probably the most stubborn person I’d ever met. “It could have easily been MJ in there or Ned or even you! It wasn’t your fault that those assholes picked me to be a hostage. It was totally random.”

“Even if that was true, being with me would only make you more of a threat. And that’s both me as Spider-Man and me as Peter Parker, Tony Stark’s intern,” he told me, getting to his feet. 

“So you’re going to ignore this because you’re more focused on trying to protect me than making me happy? Making yourself happy?” I asked, feeling myself getting worked up.

“I’m not worth putting yourself in danger for!” he cried, desperately.

“You don’t get to make that decision for me.”

With that, I stormed over and kissed him. My eyes fluttered shut and I lost myself in the feel of him. All the argument seemed to have left him since he immediately started kissing back. One of my hands rested on his shoulder blade. My other hand moved up to his head and my fingers tangled into his curly hair, holding his lips against mine. His hands rested gently on my hips. 

It wasn’t perfect. Neither of us knew what we were doing, so it was somewhat sloppy. I didn’t care. It was Peter. I didn’t even know how long I had been wanting to kiss him, but it was finally happening and I never wanted it to stop.

Unfortunately, breathing was a thing.

We broke apart, panting slightly, our foreheads pressed together. 

“Still want to argue against this?” I asked, still half worried about his answer. 

He sighed, pulling his head away from mine so he could give me a serious and soul-searching stare. “This won’t be easy. I’m not a normal teenager and it’s very likely that you could be in danger.”

“I know,” I nodded, trying to calm him with a smile. “But… I think that you’re worth it.”

“I’ll swap to L’Oréal,” he grinned.

I rolled my eyes. “Shut up and kiss me again.”

  
  


* * * * * * * *

 

When we walked into school together on Monday morning, our fingers were tangled together. Ned and MJ didn’t even look surprised. Her only reaction was to turn to Ned and declare that he owed her ten bucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so much fun to write! It's honestly the most fun I've had while writing in a long time!  
> Let me know what you think!  
> Favourite moment? Favourite line?


	3. Family Matters

“My god, that’s a fancy room. That couch is probably more expensive than my mom’s car!”

Peter angled his phone back to his face when he finished giving me the tour of Tony Stark’s living room. He was sitting on said expensive couch, his feet propped up on the most likely just as pricey coffee table. 

He rolled his eyes at my dramatic words. “Oh come on, I doubt it’s that bad. It’s just a couch!”

“Don’t underestimate the rich, Peter,” I laughed. “They buy expensive stuff just because it’s expensive.”

“I don’t think he’s like that,” my boyfriend disagreed. “Honestly I don’t think he bought any of this stuff himself.”

“Yeah probably,” I nodded. “How’s it feel to be spending the weekend at your hero’s Tower?” 

He shrugged. “Oh yeah, I mean it’s alright.”

I raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

“Okay,” he relented, his lips curving up into a smile. “I might be a little excited… or a lot excited.”

“I thought so,” I said, smugly.

My thoughts were interrupted by Peter suddenly glancing up, a sheepish look on his face. The video shook as he moved.

“You know the rule, kid. No feet on the coffee table.” Tony’s voice was distant, but still audible..

“You had your feet on it earlier!” Peter protested.

“And? I don’t have to follow the rule, it’s my house. Who follows rules in their own house?” His voice was getting louder as he got closer. “Oh, what’s this? You talking to your girlfriend?”

“Yeah!” Peter’s face lit up. That never failed to make my heart flutter. He flipped the camera so I could see Tony. “Say hi, Mr Stark!”

“Hey, other kid?” Tony waved.

I laughed and gave him a wave back. “Hi!”

The billionaire turned his attention back to Peter. “Now kiddo, what have I said about ‘Mr Stark’?”

“Ahh, right. Sorry! It makes you feel old,” Peter groaned. 

“Exactly,” Tony said. “I already have my back reminding me of that. Believe me, I don’t need more reminders.”

He walked closer and yanked the phone from Peter’s grasp. Peter protested and I assumed he tried to grab it back. It was impossible to tell though, the whole exchange looked like a shaky cam horror movie.

“So how long have you two lovebirds been together now?” Tony asked, flipping the camera to his face and somehow managing to fend Peter off. I heard my boyfriend give up and collapse back on the couch with a frustrated huff. “Four years? Five?”

“Close, Mr Stark,” I laughed. “Just over nine months now.”

“Not you too! Come on, other kid! It’s Tony.  _ Tony _ !” he groaned. “I can’t handle two of you doing that.”

“Hey, you never told  _ me _ to call you Tony,” I pointed out. “Just Peter.”

“Details, details,” he said. “Okay, blanket request to everyone:  _ Call me Tony _ !”

“Of course, Tony. All you had to do was ask,” I smiled, blinking at him innocently.

I could hear Peter sniggering in the background and Tony poked his tongue out at the teen.

“Freaking teenagers,” the man muttered. Then his face lit up. “Oh hey! I do have a question.”

“Let’s hear it,” I prompted.

“So Pete mentioned that he met your folks a while ago,” Tony said, turning around so I could see Peter on the couch behind him. “Did your dad give him the ‘intentions’ speech and get all intimidating?”

“No actually. I mean, dad has known Peter for years now so he knows he’s not a dick,” I explained. “The whole thing actually was really nice.”

Tony shook his head. “Not acceptable. The intimidating speech is basically a requirement.”

“Sorry, Tony,” I laughed. “Pete got off easily in that one.”

“Nope, I can’t let this one slide,” Tony declared. “We’re going to have a do-over.”

“Seriously?” Peter groaned, slumping further into the black leather.

Tony ignored his intern’s obvious lack of interest. “I’ll be playing the role of her dad.”

“Oh hell yes,” I grinned. 

“Language,” the man scolded, giving me a stern look. For a split second, I saw his expression darken before he slipped back into his character.

I let the odd moment pass and laughed. “Man, you got that character down quickly.”

Tony turned to Peter. “Now, young man-”

“We’re actually doing this?” The teen propped his head up on his elbow, resigning himself to Tony’s bizarre role play.

“I hear you’re involved with this young woman now,” Tony said seriously, somehow managing to keep a straight face. “Is that correct?”

“Yes sir, that is correct,” Peter answered, pushing himself up so that he was sitting on the couch rather than lounging on it.

“Alright. Well, do you know that I’m an avid hunter? I could show you my shotgun if you’re interested,” Tony not so subtly threatened.

“Nope,” I corrected.

“My pistol?” Tony tried.

“Uhh no.”

“Baseball bat?”

“Yeah, he probably has one,” I allowed.

“I hear I’ve got a pretty good swing,” Tony continued on.

“Do you often threaten your ‘daughter’s’ boyfriends?” Peter raised an eyebrow.

“Yep. It’s a totally normal thing to do,” Tony said. “I think you and I should have a little chat about your intentions here.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Peter asked, pausing for dramatic tension. “Obviously I’m just with her for the fame and fortune.”

Tony gasped, lifting his free hand to clutch at his chest. “I knew it! I knew you were a no good rotten gold digger! You’re no good for my little girl.”

“Oh my god,” I groaned. “When did this become a corny soap opera?”

“How dare my own flesh and blood say such hurtful things to me!” Tony cried, wiping away an imaginary tear.

“You really missed your calling, Tony,” I told him. “You should have gone into acting instead of superheroing.”

“It’s never too late for a career change, you know,” Peter said, suppressing a grin. “You’re not too old.”

“And now I’m being mocked by sixteen year olds,” Tony sighed, finally back to his normal voice. “This is a new low.”

“Oh hey, you wanna settle a bet?” I asked. “How much did that couch cost?”

“The one Pete’s on?” Tony pointed to the leather couch. I nodded. “Hell if I know. Pepper organised an interior designer to do everything. All I did was hand over my credit card.”

“Told you,” Peter said smugly. “Also, language.”

Tony rolled his eyes, but he seemed a tiny bit uncomfortable again. “Again, kid, the rules don’t apply to me.”

“So I’ve heard,” Peter muttered, smirking at his mentor.

“Hey, other kid, while I’ve got you on the line, you’re coming to my little get together, right?” Tony Stark: billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist and master of segues.

“Yeah!  I wouldn’t miss it,” I confirmed.

“Awesome. Do you have to bring your boyfriend with you, though?” Tony groaned.

“Afraid so,” I sighed. “He’d get all pouty if I didn’t bring him with.”

Peter stood up from the couch and yanked the phone away from Tony. “You guys only know each other because of me! I never should have introduced you two!”

“Oh no, the pouting has already started!” Tony laughed.

“You guys suck,” Peter grumbled, totally not pouting.

Tony reached over and messed up Peter’s hair. “I’m going to grab some coffee and head back down to the lab. You coming kid?”

“Yeah, give me a minute,” Peter told him.

“See you later, other kid,” Tony called out, his voice growing quieter as he walked away.

“Bye Tony!” I called back. I smiled at my boyfriend. “Sorry for teasing you, Pete.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he chuckled. “I’m just glad you two get along.”

“Well I mean, he is my dad so it’s probably good that we get along,” I joked.

Peter groaned. “What even was that?”

“It was live theatre,” I replied. “It was even interactive. I can’t wait for part two.”

”Oh god, please don’t let there be a part two!”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Two weeks later, I climbed into the sleek black sedan parked outside my apartment. Peter followed me into the car, pulling the door closed behind him. Happy had so kindly offered (aka been told by Tony) to drive us to the party. In his defence, he only complained like three times about it. 

Peter was dressed in the same suit he’d worn to Homecoming (at least, for the two seconds he was there). It had taken me forever to decide on an outfit, before finally choosing probably the fanciest thing in my entire wardrobe, which was a long black dress. His entire face had lit up when I’d come outside and I felt myself fall for him even more.

Once we’d started driving, however, that heartwarming feeling quickly faded. My stomach was packed tightly with anxious butterflies and I reached my arm over to grip Peter’s hand. He glanced over at me and smiled.

“You alright?” he asked, gently squeezing my hand.

“Is ‘I don’t know’ an acceptable answer?” My laugh came out somewhat shaky and I shifted on the dark leather seat. Man, Tony Stark seemed to be really fond of leather.

He ran his thumb over my knuckles. “What’s worrying you?”

“I mean… what the hell am I doing going to one of Tony Stark’s parties?” I sighed. “Everyone is going to be looking at me like ‘what the hell is she doing here’?”

“Why do they matter?” Peter asked, a reassuring smile on his face. “They’re going to be looking at me the same way. You get to have the knowledge that Tony Stark actually likes you, which is something 99.9% of people don’t have.”

My lips curled up into a grin and I laughed quietly. “I guess you’re right. It  _ is _ a pretty exclusive club.”

“Yep!” He nodded. “Seriously, we should get jackets. There’s only like five of us.”

“Pepper would totally be club president,” I grinned. “And Rhodes as vice president.”

“Happy could be security,” he suggested.

I flipped my hand over, lacing my fingers with his. “So his club job would basically be his real job?”

“You know, I can hear you two, right?” Happy pointed out, looking back at us through the rearview mirror, one eyebrow raised. “And I’m in Asset Management now, by the way.”

“So you’re in charge of protecting Stark Industries’ assets?” Peter asked. 

“That’s right,” Happy nodded.

”Which would make you asset... security, right?” I teased.

“Uh…” Happy frowned and then the partition slowly rose, blocking him from sight.

Peter and I glanced at each other and then burst out laughing. My nerves had mostly vanished; Peter’s caring words and banter about hypothetical clubs proved to be a very successful distraction. 

Once I had finished laughing, I had another question. “What does that make us then? In the club?”

He tilted his head up and pondered my question. “Hmm… I don’t think I should be treasurer. I feel like that should be a mistake.”

“You don’t think you’re good financially?” I put a hand over my heart, gasping dramatically. “My god, maybe I should reconsider this relationship.”

“That’s where you draw the line?” He raised an eyebrow. “Dating a superhero, making you a potential target for kidnapping, is totally fine. But the possibility of me being financially irresponsible is too far?”

“Well of course!”  I said, rolling my eyes. “I have my future to think of.”

“Ahh, right. I totally understand,” he sighed, pouting.

I lifted my hand to my face, cupping my chin with my fingers and looking thoughtful. “Then again… I suppose you’re pretty much set for life.”

“Huh?” He glanced over at me, narrowing his eyes slightly in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re basically Tony’s kid. It wouldn’t surprise me if he just leaves the company to you when he retires,” I explained. “I’m pretty sure I saw a magazine a while ago that was speculating on you actually being his son.”

“Okay first, Tony Stark retiring? It’ll never happen,” Peter said. He shifted in his seat, looking mildly uncomfortable. “Second, I’m not his kid! He’s not going to just give me an entire company! Ahh, now I’m nervous.”

I frowned, squeezing his hand. “Aww, Pete, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you nervous. I take it back, he’s totally not your dad. I mean, even though he totally is.”

“You’re the worst!” he groaned, pulling his hand away to cover his face. He leaned forward, his head almost touching his knees. His words became muffled. “How am I supposed to talk to him now?!”

“I suggest using your words,” I teased. “Preferably English ones.”

“What if he thinks I’m just using him for his money or… his company or whatever? I don’t want his money!” Peter fretted.

“Pete, hey! Calm down, it’s okay. I was just messing with you. I wasn’t serious,” I soothed, reaching out to rub his back.

“I’m okay… I’m okay.” Peter wasn’t very convincing. “But… do I need to talk to him about this?”

“About him being your dad?”

He tilted his head and glared at me. “Not helping.”

“Yeah, bad joke. I’m sorry,” I winced. “If you’re this stressed about it, then yeah, you should probably talk to him about it. But I guarantee you, he doesn’t think you’re using him.”

“Are you sure?” Peter asked, uncertainly. 

“I’m sure,” I promised.

He was silent for a little while, but he finally straightened back up, leaning into the dark leather. He held his hand out again and I took it, rubbing calming circles in between his knuckles.

“He’s really making the rounds, isn’t he?” I asked. “Just two weeks ago, he was my dad and now he’s yours. Crazy.”

He groaned, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling. “You are seriously the worst.”

“I know,” I grinned.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Happy parked in his usual spot under the Tower and we took the elevator up to the super duper fun party room, aka the event hall. The brightly coloured spotlights reflected off the marble floor and the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling sent dazzling rainbows across the walls. There were several seating areas around the edges of the hall, most of them occupied. AC/DC’s  _ Back in Black _ was playing through the speakers, quiet enough to allow for conversations with the other guests, but still loud enough to be heard. Only Tony Stark would be playing rock music instead of Christmas carols at a holiday party.

There were a lot of very fancily dressed people milling around the large space, clustered in small groups and holding either wine glasses or beer bottles. From my one glance around the room, it definitely seemed like Peter and I were the youngest guests in attendance. Happy immediately headed towards the bar, leaving us by the entrance.

“Have you ever been to one of these before?” I asked him, curling my arm around his waist and stepping close to him.

“Uhh… no, I haven’t,” he answered distractedly, his eyes scanning the large crowd of people.

“You okay?” I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder.

He curled his arm around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my hair. “I’m still a little nervous, but it’s alright.”

That guilty feeling rose up again. “I really am sorry, Peter. I didn’t know this bothered you that much. When that article came out, you didn’t seem that stressed about it.”

“I mean… I wasn’t really stressed about it,” he said. “Tony didn’t even say anything about it to me and the article just disappeared.”

“Maybe we should move this away from the entrance,” I suggested. “I’m fine to keep discussing this, but people might hear us.”

“Oh yeah… that’s a good idea,” he chuckled.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a miraculously empty set of chairs. He pulled two of the chairs on the edge and dragged them further away, the metallic scraping thankfully muffled by the music. 

“Okay, let’s go back to this therapy session,” I said, once we were seated.

“Well at least I’m not paying you for this.” Peter rolled his eyes.

“Okay so… a few weeks ago, an article came out saying it was possible you could be Tony Stark’s son and he didn’t say anything about it,” I summarised. “Something about the whole situation is making you uncomfortable.”

“That seems to be what’s happening right now,” he agreed, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms.

“Are you upset because Tony didn’t say anything to you?” I asked. He didn’t speak, but he slowly nodded after a few seconds of silence. I continued. “Like… is it possible you were worried he was ashamed of people thinking you were his son?”

“God, I wish this had come up at literally any other time,” he groaned, covering his face with his hands again and curling in on himself slightly. “This is way too deep of a conversation to be having at a freaking Tony Stark party.”

I put my hand on his knee. “Do you want to stop talking about this?”

“Is ‘I don’t know’ an acceptable answer?” He lifted his head up and rubbed the back of his neck.

“How dare you steal my words,” I laughed quietly. “But seriously, do you want to stop?”

“I do,” he mumbled, dejectedly. “But only because I think you might be right.”

“Are you going to be okay?” I squeezed his knee gently. “Or do you wanna head home?”

He took a deep breath. “No, I want to stay. Ned would kill us if we just left.”

“Ahh, good point,” I chuckled. “He’s bummed enough that he had to go out of town with his family this weekend. We have to at least tell him how the party goes.”

“It’s settled then,” he smiled. “We’ll stay for Ned’s sake.”

“Hey, you two. What are you doing over here?”

I looked up to see Pepper standing next to us. Her hair was pulled up into an elegant bun and she was smiling at us fondly. She held a half-full wine glass, the liquid inside almost exactly the same colour as her burgundy gown. She wore no elaborate jewels, just a simple diamond necklace around her neck. 

“Oh, Miss Potts! Hi!” I sat up straight and spun around in my chair to face her. Peter laughed under his breath.

“Honey, I know you’re calling him Tony at this point; you can call me Pepper,” she pointed out, leaning on her left hip.

My face grew hot. “Ah, right! Of course, Miss… I mean, Pepper.”

Peter shook his head at me and then grinned at her. “How’s the party so far, Pepper?”

“Oh, the usual Stark Industries affair,” she sighed, turning so she could gaze back at the party-goers. “Networking, insincere compliments and social climbers.”

“You’re not really selling me on being here,” I admitted, the heat not quite gone from my cheeks.

“Don’t mind me,” she said, suppressing a laugh. “I’ve been doing this for so many years now, I find I’ve grown tired of this kind of scene. Unfortunately, we’re expected to throw a few events a year and I’m required to be at… all of them.”

“That sounds really shitty, Pepper,” Peter frowned.

She laughed. “Don’t leak that to the press or anything. You guys are sworn to secrecy.”

“You can trust us, Pepper!” I promised, my inner fangirl screaming.

“Thank you, honey. I appreciate that,” she smiled at me. “Have you guys said hi to Tony yet?”

Peter shook his head. “Nah, we only just got here. Haven’t seen him at all.”

“He’s probably socialising somewhere,” she sighed. “He’s likely to be in high demand tonight.”

“We can hang out with him any day,” Peter shrugged. “It’s fine if he’s too busy.”

She rolled her eyes. “Social etiquette demands that he greets each guest at his party.”

“Peter, make a note: I don’t ever want to be famous,” I declared, turning to him. “That is way beyond my level of social interaction.”

“Noted,” he laughed.

“I have to keep moving,” Pepper said, her ‘work’ smile appearing back on her face. “You two enjoy the party.”

“Thanks, Pepper!” I beamed.

She spun on her heel and walked back into the crowd. Tony Stark still wasn’t visible, which was honestly not surprising; there were at least a hundred men wearing near-identical suits.

“You wanna grab a drink?” Peter asked.

“Good idea.”

We walked over to the bar, maneuvering around several guests who peered at us curiously. We retreated back to our seats with our sodas.

“What are the chances, do you think, that we could get some alcohol?” Peter asked, a scheming grin on his face.

“Sorry Pete, but you don’t look even close to 21,” I smirked.

“Okay rude,” he pouted. “And you don’t either!”

I sipped my drink and then shook my head. “Even if we did get some, I’m pretty sure Pepper would kill us.”

“Yeah, but Tony would probably think it was hilarious.”

“Yeah, until May and my mom got a hold of him.” I shuddered, imagining how long the yelling would last. “Plus, we’d probably be grounded for life.”

“Oh… you have a point,” he frowned.

“I guess that means we’re not in charge of alcohol for the club then, right?” I laughed.

“That’s probably a safe bet,” he nodded. “We should probably leave that one up to Happy or Rhodey.”

“I’ve never met Rhodey. What’s he like?” I asked.

“Tony said he’s going to be here tonight, so you’ll probably meet him,” Peter smiled. “He’s a lot more serious than Tony; he is in the military and all. Honestly, it’s really funny watching the two interact. They’ve been best friends for basically ever and they act like a married couple.”

“Seriously?” I giggled. “Now I need to see this.”

“Maybe Rhodey and Pepper should be co-presidents,” he mused aloud. “They’re both very deserving of the role. Although it does leave the VP role empty.”

“You can be vice president,” I offered. “Happy is locked in as security and god knows, I couldn’t be VP.”

“Uhh, I don’t think I’m qualified,” Peter paled.

“You don’t think you’re qualified to be a vice president of a made up club?” I rested my head on my hand and looked at him questioningly.

“Fine,” he sighed. “But don’t blame me when our hypothetical club goes up in flames.”

“Ehh, at least it’ll be interesting to watch!” I shrugged. “That’s your role sorted; that just leaves me.”

He took a moment to think, his eyes moving up and down my body. I felt my cheeks flush again, though for an entirely different reason than last time.

Finally, he seemed to get an idea. “Club mascot?”

“Mascot?” I cried, indignantly. “You’re the one associated with an animal around here. Why aren’t you the mascot?”

“I already have my role,” he grinned. “And you should take it as a compliment. I’m saying you’re cute enough to be the face of the team!”

My frown didn’t last long; it seemed impossible to be annoyed with Peter for too long. Those puppy dog eyes were his real superpower.

“Nice save, but I think I’ll be club secretary,” I decided.

“The cutest secretary ever.” He reached over and booped me on the nose.

“A few more of those compliments and you’ll have made up for the mascot comment,” I teased.

Peter opened his mouth to respond, but paused when something caught his attention. “Oh hey, there’s Tony. And Rhodey too.”

I followed his gaze and spotted the pair, almost entirely surrounded by people. They were mostly women, but there was the odd male in there as well. Tony had a girl shamelessly pressed up against him, though he seemed to be attempting to remove her as diplomatically as possible. Her perfectly manicured hands were curled around his sleek black suit arm and her breasts were almost falling out of the incredibly low cut gold gown she was wearing. I did not envy that woman; she was either very brave or very stupid to risk unleashing Pepper’s fury. It seemed the woman hadn’t even noticed, or possibly was ignoring, the fact that Tony’s tie matched the colour of Pepper’s dress exactly. Rhodey, in his dark blue suit, had his own little gaggle of admirers, but they were considerably less obvious about their intentions. 

“Avengers fans?”

“I’d say so,” Peter agreed, watching his mentor work the public.

“Feeling jealous?” I asked, fluttering my eyelashes at him innocently.

“Again, I’m not an Avenger,” he replied, his voice much quieter than before. We were a fair distance from the other guests, but it wouldn’t do for them to overhear this particular conversation. “And why would I be jealous? I’ve got my number one fan right here!”

“Pete, honey, you know Ned isn’t here, right?”

His eyes narrowed. “I was referring to you.”

I inhaled loudly, the breath coming out like a hiss. I put on my best ‘embarrassed’ face. “Oh… yikes, this is awkward. Spider-Man isn’t my favourite superhero. Iron Man has that place.”

“What? You traitor!” Peter gasped, a hand placed dramatically on his chest. “Am I at least second?”

“Well…”

“ _ Third _ ?! Who’s in second?”

“Have you  _ seen  _ Thor?” I gazed off into the distance, my hands clasped together and pressed against my cheek, a dreamy smile on my face. “Dude’s a literal god.”

Peter sighed, looking depressed but accepting. “I mean… I can’t argue with your choices. At least I’m still on the podium.”

“Nothing wrong with bronze!” I waited a second before poking his cheek playfully. “You know you’re my favourite.”

“Thanks, love,” he smiled, grabbing my hand and pressing a light kiss on my knuckles.

My heart fluttered at the endearment. “Do you want me to start another club? The Spider-Man Appreciation club?”

“C’mon, give me some credit,” he smirked. “That one already exists.”

“Is that so?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, I’ve learned that I have a very cute butt. There was a whole meeting devoted to it,” he explained. “There’s a real appreciation for the spandex.”

“And you know this how?”

He sipped his drink again, looking an odd combination of sheepish and proud. “They put up the summary of their meetings on the fan page. Ned likes to check it every week and give me the updates.”

“Uh huh, I’m sure  _ Ned _ does,” I chuckled.

“He does!” Peter protested.

“Alright, alright,” I smiled. “Do I have any competition?”

He thought for a second, then grinned. “Nah, you have nothing to worry about. Besides, you’re already my number one fan.”

“Damn straight.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

It was when Peter went to the toilet that I noticed Tony standing by the bar, for once alone. I quickly walked over to him, as quickly as my dress would allow without tripping, ripping it or otherwise making a fool out of myself. He glanced over and his fake smile morphed into a real one.

“Hey, OK!” Tony greeted. “How’s it going?”

I smiled at him. “Yeah, it’s going alright, Tony. How’s being the centre of attention treating you?”

“I’m pretty used to it by now, OK,” he preened, resting his elbows on the bar behind him.

“Why do you keep saying OK?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.

“It’s your nickname, of course,” he grinned, looking far too proud of himself.

I blinked at him, confused. “My nickn- Oh god, it’s short for Other Kid, isn’t it?”

“Yep!”

“You could always call me by my name you know. I do have one,” I pointed out.

He chuckled. “Nah, this is way more fun.”

“I had an actual reason for coming over here,” I said, shaking my head.

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“It uhh… may or may not be possible that I screwed up,” I said slowly.

“Oh god,” Tony groaned. “Peter’s not pregnant, is he?”

“I mean, he is in the bathroom right now.”

“Ah, the night version of morning sickness. So cruel,” he sighed.

“Well… he’s not pregnant, but I mean, the topic does have something to do with kids.” 

I wish I sounded more confident or even remotely sure of myself. I couldn’t help but be nervous though. Tony and I were definitely something resembling friends at this point, but it was still  _ Tony freaking Stark _ .

“You’re not helping my anxiety here, OK.”

I took a deep breath. “Well… I may have made some bad jokes earlier which kind of freaked out Peter a little. Do you remember that article that came out a bit ago? The one that was saying Peter could have been your kid?”

“Yeah,” Tony nodded. “The one that I immediately suppressed. What about it?”

“Did you say anything to Peter about it before you handled it?” I asked, wringing my hands together nervously.

He arched an eyebrow. “No. I figured I’d make it disappear so the kid wouldn’t be hounded by paparazzi.”

I nodded slowly; his reasoning did make a lot of sense. “Well… it’s possible that Peter may have taken it a different way.”

He didn’t respond, his eyes locked on mine as he waited for me to continue.

“Pete may have thought you were… ashamed of people thinking he was your son.”

Tony looked down with a quiet sigh, fidgeting with his watch. “Of course he did.”

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, the words barely audible. “I didn’t mean to-“

“Don’t blame yourself, OK,” Tony said, reaching to pat me on the shoulder. “This honestly might be a good thing. It seems like Pete and I need to have a chat. Can I ask what kind of jokes you made that freaked him out?”

I flushed and looked away from him. “I joked about him inheriting Stark Industries since you’re basically his dad anyway and he was really worried that you’d think he was only out for your money.”

“That sounds like something my kid would do,” Tony nodded. “You’re making work for me, OK. If you’re not careful, I might take away your Tony Stark official nickname.”

I smiled, his words easing my worry. “Please do it anyway. It’s a terrible nickname.”

“Hey!” he protested, looking offended. “Just for that, I’m going to come up with an even worse nickname for you.”

“Good luck on finding one that doesn’t sound completely creepy,” I teased.

“Challenge accepted,” Tony smirked. “Oh hey, Pete.”

An arm curl around my waist and I jumped slightly. Tony and Peter laughed at my reaction.

“Hey Tony,” Peter greeted. “Nice party.”

“Oh yeah, have you two been enjoying your corner?” Tony asked.

“You’re welcome to join us in the corner, if you’d like,” I smiled. “It’s much quieter over there.”

“I doubt it would stay quiet if I went over there, pumpkin,” he replied.

“Seriously? Pumpkin?” I rolled my eyes. “That’s the most basic nickname of all time. I expect a little more creativity from Tony Stark.”

“I don’t want to know,” Peter groaned.

“Hey, you still coming to the lab on Wednesday, Pete?” Tony asked.

“Absolutely,” Peter beamed. “I’ve had a ton more ideas. I can’t wait to run them by you.”

“Sure thing,” Tony smiled fondly. “Happy and I can pick you up and we can talk on the way to the Tower.”

I had a feeling that the talk Tony mentioned wouldn’t quite be what Peter would expect it to be. I mouthed ‘thank you’ to Tony, getting a discreet nod in return. If their discussion went the way I imagined it going, Peter wouldn’t be feeling anxious about Tony for much longer. 

I let out a content sigh and relaxed against Peter, my head resting comfortably on his shoulder. He glanced down at me and kissed my hair. 

Yeah… things were going to be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I finished the original two chapters to this story, I was content with the ending. But the week after I finished, my brain would not shut up with ways to continue this. Thus the third chapter was born. Honestly, I don't know if I will add more to this, but I do know that this story has been the most fun I've ever had writing.  
> Thank you guys so much for all your likes, comments, bookmarks, everything! It means the world to me <3 <3 <3 You guys are the best!


	4. Remembering

Peter breathed evenly, his arm curled loosely around my back. I blinked sleepily, my eyes adjusting to the darkness in the unfamiliar room. I pulled my hand off his chest to suppress a yawn.

Sleeping with Peter (in a totally innocent way!!!!!) was something I didn’t get to experience very often. In the nine months we’d been dating, this was probably the third time it had happened. After six months of us dating, May decided it would be fine to let us sleep in the same bed when I stayed over. My parents weren’t quite on the same page with trusting Peter yet, so he slept on a mattress beside my bed whenever he stayed over, with my bedroom door open of course.

Tony didn’t seem to have the same concerns. 

 

* * * * * * * *

 

The holiday party wrapped up just after midnight. We followed Tony upstairs to the bedroom we’d be sharing for the night, the one he’d set up for Peter to use when he stayed over. We paused just outside the room and Tony took the opportunity to throw out a ‘use protection’ joke, grinning madly as Peter’s face turned a startling shade of red. I blushed as well, but hearing his mentor make that kind of joke made it so much worse for Peter. He mumbled something about it not being necessary, which Tony intentionally took the wrong way.

“Don’t think you’re above using condoms, Peter. You’re too young to be a dad!” Tony warned, not able to keep the smirk off his face.

“Oh my god.” Peter covered his face, letting out a low groan. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this red, kiddo,” Tony laughed. “This is honestly impressive.”

“Can we just go to bed, please?” Peter begged.

“I know you’re eager, Peter, but I just want to make sure you understand,” Tony said, reaching out to put a hand on his intern’s shoulder.

I’d always find moments when I’d look at my current life and just be so amazed at what I was experiencing. Tony Stark personally encouraging me (and Peter) to use protection, even though he was using it just to embarrass Peter, was absolutely one of those moments.

To Peter’s relief, Pepper appeared at the end of the hallway. She paused when she caught sight of us, her hands frozen at her ear where she’d been removing her earrings. She sighed, a fond noise, and made her way over to us.

“Tony, what are you doing?” she asked, finally managing to remove her earrings.

The man pulled his hand away from Peter to place it over his heart, looking offended. “Pepper, darling, why do you assume I’ve done something?”

“Because it’s always you,” she told him, rolling her eyes.

“I’m offended,” he pouted. “I’m imparting serious wisdom on these young, impressionable teenagers. You should be proud of me.”

She glanced at me and Peter, trying to hide her smile. “Ahh yes, they look very grateful for your wisdom.”

Tony sighed, folding his arms over his chest. “What did I do to deserve such ungrateful children?”

“We’re both your children?” I asked, gasping dramatically. “My god, that makes this relationship a little awkward.”

“I did mean to tell you, but I waited too long and lost the opportunity,” he explained. “You know, like when you’re not sure what someone’s name is, but you took too long to ask and it would just be awkward to ask again.”

“Am I at least in the will?” I asked, smothering my laugh.

Tony unfolded his arms and pointed at Peter. “He is.”

“What blatant favouritism,” I sighed. “I feel so unloved.”

“I mean, you’re definitely still in the running,” Tony placated. 

Peter glanced between the two of us, an exasperated but fond smile on his face. “It was a mistake to introduce you two.”

“Yeah, you’ve said that before,” Tony grinned. 

“Well, it’s still accurate.”

“As entertaining as standing in this hallway is,” Pepper interrupted, putting a hand on Tony’s arm. “I think we should head to bed.”

“Great idea!” Peter grinned.

She smiled at us, going into host mode for a second. “Thank you for coming tonight. I hope you had a good time.”

“It was wonderful. Thank you, Pepper,” I replied.

“You say we should go to bed and then you start up another conversation,” Tony pointed out, smirking at his fiancée. 

She took a deep breath, half-heartedly glaring at him. “Sleep well, you two.”

We’d said our good nights and I followed Peter into the bedroom. The room was insanely big, probably larger than Peter’s bedroom at home and my bedroom combined. White walls, with one feature wall, coloured bright red with various Star Wars and science posters covering them. There were two doors that I assumed led to some sort of expensive looking wardrobe and an equally expensive ensuite. I’d expect nothing less from Tony Stark. An entertainment area was set up in the corner, complete with a huge TV, a comfortable looking couch and every single console available plus some classic consoles as well. A fancy looking computer sat on a desk in the corner, with two photo frames next to it. I walked over to the desk and picked up the closest frame. It was a picture of Tony and Peter, grinning at the camera, each wearing a pair of Tony’s colourful glasses. The second frame was a picture of the two of us, taken at Peter’s 16th birthday party back in August. In the photo, he was hugging me from behind and we both wore bright, sparkly party hats. Peter came out of the bathroom and blushed when he saw what I was examining, but he smiled adorably when I walked over and kissed him. He’d changed into a set of pyjamas he kept at the Tower and he gave me one of his shirts to sleep in. I felt my cheeks heat up and I dashed into the bathroom before he noticed, but based on his laugh, he totally noticed.

The siren song known as sleep soon became too strong to resist and we climbed into the bed, which was the most comfortable bed I’d ever laid on in my entire life. It was like someone had taken a cloud and combined it with a mattress that was also half marshmallow. We fell asleep pretty much immediately, exhausted from the social interaction and the fancy party environment.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

I found myself awake now though, three hours later according to my phone. I snuggled in closer to Peter’s side, ready to drift back off to sleep. It was only a minute later when Peter started squirming, mumbling inaudibly. His arm tightened around my waist, way too constricting to be considered an embrace.

“Peter?” My voice was loud in the nearly silent room.

“No… please, not…”

“Pete, hey. Wake up,” I said, pushing gently at his shoulder.

“Not there, ple-”

He gasped, arching his back off the bed. My gasp was one of pain as his arm curled even tightened even further, my ribs protesting. His muttering grew more frantic and my attempts to wake him became more desperate.

Another squeeze and I knew I’d have an arm-shaped bruise in a few hours.

“Peter!” I screamed, shoving at his chest as hard as I could from the awkward position I was in.

His eyes flew open and he sat up abruptly. The sudden movement made him release me, rolling me off to the side. He panted heavily, his chest heaving with every breath he took.

“Pete?” I breathed, my ribs aching slightly as I shifted on the bed.

His flinch made my chest hurt even more and I stayed silent, trying to limit my movements as much as I could.

Finally, his breathing slowed down and the room grew quiet again. I wanted so badly to say something, to reach over and comfort him, but I resisted the temptation.

After a few more moments of silence, he finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. “Please say something.”

“That seemed like a really bad nightmare.” I reached out slowly and put my hand on top of his, running my fingers over his knuckles. “Do you have them often?”

He shook his head. “No, not anymore, at least. They started after Homecoming night, after my fight with the Vulture.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t exactly sure what to say. I couldn’t tell him that I understood or anything, because I absolutely didn’t. There was no way I could understand. I’d never fought anyone, let alone an actual villain. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I wouldn’t say no to a hug,” he suggested.

“Of course,” I smiled.

I scooted over to him, pushing the blankets out of the way, until our hips were touching. I wrapped my arms around him, leaning my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and angled his body towards mine. He rested his other arm on top of mine.

It wasn’t the most elegant of hugs; sitting side by side didn’t exactly help that, but I figured it would have been far more awkward if I’d sat in his lap to hug him. In this situation, that would not have been appropriate. Plus I was absolutely not that brave.

He tightened his grip a little when he moved. My ribs protested loudly and I couldn’t help but wince.

Peter immediately noticed. “Are you okay?”

I hesitated, immediately knowing how he was going to react. “Umm… when you were dreaming, you had your arm around my waist and maybe… squeezed a little too tightly.”

Like I knew he would, Peter instantly pulled away from me, retreating to the edge of the bed. He almost fell off the bed with how fast he scrambled backwards. “I hurt you?!”

“I’m fine, honestly!” I promised, ignoring the ache I was definitely still feeling.

“If you’re wincing in pain, then you’re obviously not fine,” he argued, still looking horrified with himself.

“Look, I know you didn’t mean it,” I explained, desperate for him to understand. “That nightmare seriously freaked you out. I don’t blame you at all.”

“You should,” he muttered. “I do.”

“I don’t, not at all,” I told him. I held out my hand for him. “Please come back?”

He stared at my offered hand, clearly at war with himself.

“Please?” I wasn’t ashamed to pull out the puppy dog eyes. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

He lasted a few seconds against the power of the pout, then hesitantly moved back to sit next to me. I wrapped him in a hug and pulled him back so we could lean against the padded headboard. He let out a sigh, but curled into me, returning the embrace. He rested his head on top of mine, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head.

“I really am sorry,” he mumbled.

“I know you are, but it’s okay. Seriously,” I promised.

He was still tenser than usual, holding himself in a way that didn’t put any pressure on my waist. I frowned but didn’t say anything about it. It was enough that he was touching me at all. I’d been worried he’d say he was going to sleep in another room or something like that.

“If it’s bothering you in the morning, please tell me and we can put something on it,” he insisted. “Don’t worry about hurting my feelings or anything. Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Thank you,” he sighed.

“Do you wanna talk about your dream?” I asked. “Maybe talking about it will get it out of your head?”

I expected him to refuse, so I was pleasantly surprised when he agreed.

“It’s worth a shot at least,” he said. There was a moment of silence as he took a deep breath. “So you know how the fight with the Vulture ended up with Tony’s plane crashing on the beach near Coney Island, right?”

I thought for a second. “Yeah… I think I remember the news saying he wanted to hijack the plane.”

“Well, I’m the one who made the plane crash. But in the dream, the plane doesn’t crash on the beach. It hits Stark Tower,” he said, playing with my fingers to distract himself. “I’m doing everything I can to try and make it change direction, but no matter what I do, it always hits Stark Tower.”

I nodded slowly, completely understanding why he would be bothered by that. Peter paused, letting me absorb his words before continuing.

“Okay, so another thing I have to explain about the Vulture fight is that after I left Homecoming. I tracked down his lair and confronted him,” he explained. “But he used the classic villain monologuing technique to buy himself time. He used his suit to smash all these concrete pillars that were holding the roof up. Without the support, the roof collapsed on me. I was buried under concrete. And I didn’t even have the suit Tony gave me, I was just in my ‘onesie’, as he likes to refer to it.”

I’d stopped paying attention halfway through his words. “I’m sorry…  _ A roof collapsed on you _ ?!”

He cringed at the memory, then nodded. “Ah… yeah.”

I ducked my head and held up a hand. “Okay. I’m going to need a minute. I need to let that one sink in.”

“If it makes a difference, I got out of it fine.” His attempt to make me feel better didn’t really help.

“Uh no. ‘Fine’ is when you stub your toe or when you whack your elbow on a doorway,” I protested. “You can’t say you’re ‘fine’ after having a freaking roof collapse on you.”

He didn’t reply and I sighed. “I’m sorry for freaking out. It’s just… something like that would have killed anyone else.”

“If I was anyone else, I wouldn’t have been there in the first place,” he pointed out.

Curse his logic. “Okay, you have a point. Sorry for interrupting.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I know that one’s kind of a big deal. Alright so, after the plane crashes into the tower, I’m in the rubble. I’m trapped under the concrete and steel beams, and I can’t get myself free,” he continued. “What makes it worse, though, is that I’m not alone in the wreckage. I look around and I can see you in the wreckage, and May and Tony as well. But none of you are moving and I just know that…”

“Oh honey,” I said softly. I hugged him tightly, comforting him as best as I could in the odd position we were sat in. “If you have this dream again, you can call me, if you want, no matter what time it is. After that mugging incident a while back, hearing your voice really helped me calm down and it also made me feel less alone.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, kissing my temple. “That really means a lot to me.”

“Of course,” I said. “We should probably try and sleep again. That was a lot for my brain to handle, especially at this time of night.”

He laughed, the sound bringing a smile to my face. “You’re probably right.”

“I usually am,” I grinned, grabbing the covers and snuggling down under them.

He stifled a yawn, wrapping an arm around my middle and pulling my back against his chest. “No arguments here, love.”

It was the first time he’d used the endearment and my heart skipped a beat, heat rising in my cheeks. I was sure he could feel my reaction, either the heat or the sudden change in my heartbeat, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just breathed out, ruffling the hairs on the back of my neck and made himself comfortable. 

“G-goodnight,” I whispered.

He hummed quietly. “Night.”

It took a few minutes for me to fall asleep again, but the faint feel of Peter’s heartbeat against my back and the sound of his quiet breathing slowly pulled me under.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Two weeks later, just into the new year, Peter texted me to go over to his place. I dressed warmly, a scarf wrapped around my throat. It had taken some time, but I’d finally gotten comfortable with walking alone again, though I was more alert than I’d been in the past. My breath puffed out in front of me in a white fog as I walked along, my hands shoved deeply in my pockets. 

The talk between Tony and Peter seemed to go well. I wasn’t there for the actual conversation, but Peter seemed much happier and more at ease afterwards. Even Tony seemed more content, though I’d only seen him once in the past two weeks.

My ribs were feeling much better and the bruising that had appeared, a dark purple band stretching across my back almost from hip to hip, had thankfully disappeared. The look on Peter’s face when he’d seen it still hurt my chest, but I’d stopped him from apologising any more. The first fifty apologies had been more than enough.

Peter hadn’t had any more nightmares either and he’d said that May had just been offered a higher position at work that paid better, so it was a good start to the year.

There were still a few Christmas decorations scattered in the windows of the homes and businesses I passed, but most of them seemed to have been taken down. A light dusting of snow covered the ground and a few tiny bits of snow fell from the sky. The snow wasn’t thick enough to be an issue yet; right now, it was just something beautiful to distract me as I walked. And just a tad bit chilly. I tucked my head down, pulling my scarf over my nose to keep it warm.

Finally, I turned the corner and saw Peter’s apartment. I pulled out my phone, quickly texted Peter to tell him I was outside, then retreated my hands back into my pockets before I lost a finger to the horrible and bone-chilling cold of winter.

He pulled open the door just as I finished climbing his stairs.

“Hey,” he smiled. He pulled me into a hug, softly kissing me.

“I could get used to that kind of greeting.” Kissing Peter never got old. It was addictive, a drug without all the icky side effects and illegality of actually taking drugs. “So did you have any plans for today or did you just want to hang out?”

“Ahh…” Peter looked down, his brow furrowed. “I did have an idea of something I wanted to do today, but… Just come in first and I’ll explain it.”

I grabbed his hand, following him into the apartment and pushing the front door closed. I sat down on his couch, pulling off my jacket and placing it over the back of the couch. I untangled my scarf as well, draping it over my jacket. It was much warmer in the apartment, especially with the heater on. 

“What’s up, Pete?” I asked. He was still standing so I pulled him down next to me. “You seem worried.”

“I am a little,” he admitted, shrugging. “I just don’t want to scare you off or anything.”

I chuckled nervously. “I think we’re a little bit too young for a proposal, Pete.”

I was relieved when my attempt at a joke pulled a laugh from him. “Nah, it’s nothing like that.”

“Alright, shoot,” I said, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. If I had to guess, I’d say I was about 76% successful at appearing unbothered.

He clasped his hands together, twirling his thumbs in circles to distract himself. “I had a thought a day or two ago that… well, I haven’t gone and seen Ben or mom and dad for a while. I was wondering if you would be interested in coming with me. I thought maybe I could introduce you to my parents. You knew Ben, so that’s one less introduction we’d have to do.”

“I’d love to go with you,” I smiled, putting my hand over his to stop his restless movements. “I’m sorry that this stressed you out so much. I hope you know that it really means a lot to me that you want to introduce me to your parents though.”

He smiled back at me, squeezing my hand and looking far more relaxed. “Of course I want you to come! I love you.”

I froze, my mouth dropping open. “R-really?”

He paled. Okay, definitely not relaxed anymore. That was a nice two seconds. He slowly regained his colour, along with a scarlet flush in his cheeks. “Yeah… yeah, I do. I realised it just after the holiday party, I think.”

I turned to face him, then leant over to press my lips against his, my hand cupping his jaw. He didn’t move at first, still a bit shocked, but finally, the tension left his body and he kissed me back, winding his arms loosely around my waist. He deepened the kiss, his tongue meeting mine and he pulled me closer. In a move that was probably much more awkward than sexy, I lifted up off the couch and spun around, crouching down next to him, my thighs tucked underneath me. Our lips disconnected for a second, but as soon as I was seated again, he pulled me back in.

My arms wound behind his neck and my fingers tangled themselves into his hair, tugging at his curls. He let out a quiet moan, so I tentatively repeated the move, tugging slightly harder. I was rewarded by Peter removing his lips from my mouth, instead trailing hot open-mouthed kisses down my throat. I arched my back when he found a spot just under my ear, a whine escaping me. He sucked harder and I pressed myself against him. His hands clutched at my back and my hip and everything was just so hot and so good and so wonderful.

I pulled back and kissed him gently before resting my forehead against his, our breaths a little heavier than normal. We stayed there for a few seconds, letting ourselves calm down.

“Well… I did mean to say this a few minutes ago, but I was a little distracted,” I laughed, running the side of my hand down his jaw. “I love you too.”

“You do?” He beamed brightly, the smile lighting up his whole face. His fingers played with the bottom of my sweater.

“Of course I do, Peter,” I said, kissing his nose gently. “You know, I’m kind of having flashbacks to when you first said you liked me.”

He chuckled. “I guess I can see the similarities, though I feel we’ve gotten way better at kissing.”

“No arguments here!” I agreed.

The front door clicked open and Peter and I spun around to see May standing in the doorway, her eyebrow raised. She dropped a handful of grocery bags onto the table next to the entrance.

“Well hello, you two.” She pushed the door closed and crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her weight onto her left hip. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

Peter retracted his arms, dropping his head back onto the back of the couch and covering his face with his hands, smothering his groan.

“No, you’re not interrupting anything, May,” I told her. “Peter and I were just talking about what we were going to do today.”

“Uh huh,” she said, clearly not believing me. “You sure I don’t need to put anything specific on the shopping list? Like some soda or chips, maybe some condoms?”

“We’re good, May,” Peter cried. 

“I don’t need to go over the talk again, do I?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Between Tony’s wonderfully embarrassing attempt and the Captain America sex ed videos, I think we’ve got a pretty good idea.”

She snorted. “They made him do sex ed ones as well?” 

“Oh yeah, it was totally awful,” I replied, shuddering at the memory. “I think they’re on YouTube if you want to watch them.”

“I’m absolutely doing that,” she giggled.

I stood up from the couch and picked up two of the grocery bags. “Do you want some help putting the groceries away?” 

“That would be lovely, dear. Thank you,” she smiled, grabbing the last bag. “I think Peter is still broken.”

I glanced back at my boyfriend, still groaning quietly and trying to suffocate himself with his hands. “I think so too.”

I followed her into the kitchen and helped her sort out all the food she’d bought. I’d spent so much time in their apartment in my life, and even more in the past ten months, so I knew pretty much where everything went in their kitchen.

“You and Peter seem to be getting along really well,” she pointed out, leaning up on her toes to put a bag of rice on the top shelf of the pantry.

“Yeah, he makes me really happy,” I smiled. 

“I’m glad. I always hoped you two would get together. Watching you guys flirt all the time but still be so oblivious was certainly interesting,” she teased.

“Oh god, yeah,” I groaned. “We were pretty clueless, weren’t we?”

“You have no idea,” she smirked. “But I do want you to know you can talk to me. If you and Peter are getting to that stage where condoms would be required, I want both of you to feel comfortable enough to talk to me. I won’t get mad or anything. I’d rather you do that kind of thing safely than try to hide it and be unsafe.”

“I know, and I absolutely appreciate that,” I nodded. “We’re… not quite there yet, but when we’re closer, I’ll have a chat with you.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” She leaned in and hugged me, then pulled back and patted my cheek gently. “Anyway, what did you and Peter have planned for today?”

“He mentioned going out to see Ben and his mom and dad and he asked if I wanted to go with him,” I explained. “Would you want to come as well?”

She smiled, proudly. “Ahh, my sweet boy. And I’m afraid I can’t. I have to head into work in about an hour. You two have fun though! I’ll give you some money to buy flowers.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you!” I said.

She pulled out her wallet and handed me a ten dollar note. “Tell them I say hi. Oh and definitely put your scarf back on. That’s a fairly obvious hickey you have there.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

I wasn’t familiar with the cemetery they were buried at, but Peter knew the way. He said it was about a twenty-five minute walk, including the stop at a small grocery store by Peter’s apartment for flowers. I carried the bouquet of white and red roses in the crook of my elbow, the plastic crinkling quietly as we walked. My other hand was gripped by Peter’s, our arms swinging gently between us.

He was dressed just as warmly as I was, including a black beanie pulled down over his head. My scarf was wrapped snugly around my neck, covering the new mark below my ear. Of course he’d leave a hickey somewhere that was really tricky to hide. He didn’t apologise for marking me that way, in fact, I think he was kind of proud of it.

It was a quiet walk; we didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with conversation. I could tell he was fairly deep in thought and I didn’t want to interrupt that.

My thoughts were fairly occupied as well. Mostly with the fact that Peter loved me. I could feel my lips curling up immediately. I remembered how scared he’d been when he realised just what he’d said. He was way too good at stressing himself out. If it weren’t for his actual superpowers, I’d say anxiety was his hidden power. Well not so hidden, he really wasn’t subtle at all. 

He was beyond adorable though. He cared so much about making sure I was happy and comfortable and he was basically the best ever. 

The cemetery was an older one, with a tall, intricate wrought iron fence surrounding it. We walked around the path, following the fence until we found the open gate. There were a few clumps of snow on the metal and it was freezing to the touch. Along the inside of the fence were several tall trees, bare of their leaves, and dark green bushes clumped around the bases of the trunk. The stone pathway we’d walked along outside continued into the cemetery, a thin white blanket of snow obscured the lines dividing each paver. The path didn’t continue between the gravestones, just a sea of frost-tipped grass on either side of the stone.

“Alright, lead the way, love,” I smiled.

He glanced at me, raising his eyebrow and smirking slightly. “What have I been doing this whole time?” 

“Oh shut up,” I laughed. “You know what I mean.”

“Is that so?” he grinned. “I’m not sure that I do know what you mean actually.”

“Fine. I’ll lead us,” I announced. I walked forward, my arm stretching out backwards as he followed idly behind me. “But don’t blame me when I get us lost.”

“Okie dokie. I’ll let you know when you go the wrong way,” he said cheerfully.

About ten rows into the gravestone, I turned left. My boots made a quiet crunching noise as I stepped on the grass.

“Wrong way.”

I spun around immediately, letting out a stubborn “hmpf”, ignoring his amused expression.

Five minutes later, after hearing several more totally unhelpful corrections like “nope” or “not quite”, we arrived at our first stop.

“Hey Uncle Ben,” Peter said, staring down at the gravestone. I remembered Ben’s face, his usual cheesy grin, and pictured him standing next to us. “We would have been here sooner, but  _ someone _ is terrible at following directions.”

“Directions?” Can you believe this guy, Ben?” I gasped in mock outrage. “Last time I checked, ‘try again’ was not a direction.”

“I was totally fine with leading us here,” he teased. “You’re the one who wanted to show off your navigation skills.”

“He’s so horrible to me, Ben,” I pouted. “I don’t know why I put up with him.”

“Also, Uncle Ben, if it wasn’t already obvious by our bickering, we finally got together,” Peter smiled. “Just over ten months now.”

“May thinks we were totally oblivious. I mean, it took me being a hostage in a heist or whatever the hell that was for him to finally confess,” I sighed. “Ridiculous, huh?”

“Hey!” Peter complained. “At least I said something first!”

“True,” I admitted. I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “My hero.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “Oh, speaking of hero, Spider-Man is doing really well! Tony and I are building some amazing stuff into my suit. There’s like 576 different web combinations. It’s insane! Tony doesn’t want me to get distracted by all that though. He wants me to be able to fight with just my natural abilities as well. Oh and the suit’s even bulletproof… now.”

I turned to face him, my arms crossed. “Now, huh?”

He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Uhh… is it possible for you to forget I ever said that?”

My only response was to raise an eyebrow.

He sighed and dropped his head down. “Yeah, didn’t think so. Ahh well, had to try.”

“I applaud your attempt, but yeah no,” I smirked.

“She keeps me honest, Uncle Ben,” he smiled. “Between her, Tony and Aunt May, I don’t get away with much. But on the upside, I am taking care of myself way more than I was before.”

“Thank god for that!” I laughed. “You were sleeping like three hours a night.”

“I mean, I had other things to be doing, more important things!” he protested. “Like patrolling and lab work with Tony and homework and the academic decathlon practice and socialising and-“

I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. “Jesus, Pete! Take a breath.”

“Yeah… good idea,” he nodded. “We probably should go and see Mom and Dad, but we’ll leave some flowers here for you.”

I picked out four of the roses, two red and two white, and put them in the little vase in front of the headstone. Peter laced his fingers through mine when I stood back up.

“I won’t wait as long to see you next time,” Peter promised. “I didn’t mean to put off visiting you guys like I did. May misses you a lot too and she says hi.”

“I’ll definitely come see you again, as well,” I said.

Peter squeezed my hand and offered me a smile which I returned.

“So, off to see your parents?” I asked.

“Yep!” he said. “Do you want me to take us straight there or are we going to do things your way again?”

I put a hand up to my chin, stroking my jaw thoughtfully. “Well… I figure we did it my way the first time, so we can do it your way this time.”

“What a fantastic compromise,” he laughed. “Plus this way it won’t take forever.”

“Hey!” I whined. “I was being nice to you.”

“Alright, alright,” he relented. “I’ll play nice.”

We walked in silence for a minute before I looked over at him.

“You know you’re not talking, right?”

“Well yeah,” he shrugged, trying to hide his grin. “I was always told that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything nice at all.”

I pulled my hand free and threw it up in the air, letting out an exasperated, “Seriously?! You’re so horrible!”

He burst out laughing, almost doubling over from laughing so hard. “Oh my god, your face was amazing!” He managed to get the words out through his gasping breaths.

I pouted. “I can’t believe I’m going to be introduced to your parents while you’re making fun of me.”

“Awww,” he cooed, curling his arm around my shoulder and nuzzling his cheek against mine. “You know I don’t mean it.”

“I don’t know. Is that a thing that I know?” I asked, leaning into his touch and totally undermining my words.

“I’d hope so,” he beamed, pressing his lips against my temple. “You ready to meet my parents?”

“I think so,” I nodded.

Mary and Richard Parker were buried together, their names on either side of their memorial plaque with a long ivy vine trailing along the edges of the gravestone. Beneath their names was written ‘Loving parents to Peter. Taken far too soon’. 

Before we left the house, Peter pulled out a photo album to show me what his parents looked like. There were so many baby pictures of Peter and I told him that we would be revisiting that album at a later date so I could tease him. One picture that caught my attention was one that was taken at their wedding. Mary had her hair done up in elaborate curls, a sheer veil pinned behind her head that hung down to her waist. Her dress was strapless, with delicate lace covering the bodice. Richard wore a classic black suit, a pale blue handkerchief peeking out of his pocket. They stood mostly side on, their heads turned to the camera. They both had an arm wrapped around the other’s back. His other hand was hidden in his pocket, while hers was placed on his chest, a gleam of light reflecting off her wedding ring. They looked so happy, bright smiles lighting up their faces.

I knelt down in the grass, pulling the roses out one by one and arranging them in the vase. Peter stayed standing, letting out a quiet sniffle.

“Hi Mom. Hi Dad,” he said quietly. “It’s been way too long, I’m so sorry. I wanted you to meet someone. This is my beautiful girlfriend.”

You introduced yourself, looking up from your amateur florist attempt. “It’s really nice to meet you. You have a really wonderful son. You would be so proud of him.”

Once I was satisfied with the flowers, I pushed myself back up and looped my arm through his. I glanced over at his face and he seemed to be at a loss for words, just looking down at their graves.

“He saved my life,” I told them, my voice sounding way too loud in the snow-covered cemetery. “More than once actually. First from a mugger and then from being taken hostage at Grand Central Terminal. He’s honestly amazing. And he isn’t even arrogant about it. He’s saved so many people and is going to save so many more. And that’s just what he does as Spider-Man!”

“He’s going to do so much with his work with Tony. Whether that’s technological advancements or revolutionising the medical industry. He and Tony are working on redesigning his webbing so it can be used as an alternative for bandages or even for stitches. Honestly, I’m honoured to even know him.”

Peter was staring at me now, his eyes wide.

“He’s one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met…” My throat felt tight as tears pricked at my eyes. “I... I can’t wait to see all the things he’s going to do in his life. And I know that I’m going to be by his side for all of it, if he’ll want me there.”

Now that my speech was over, my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. I hadn’t planned on making a speech, but the words had just seemed to come to me and I knew I had to say them.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” he said, a small smile appearing on his face.

“I meant every word,” I replied, with an awkward shrug. 

“I know you did and that’s why you’re amazing,” he chuckled. “Would you be okay if I talked to them by myself?”

“Of course,” I smiled.

I walked a little distance away, distracting myself by staring down at my feet and listening to the little crunches of my boots on the grass. I looked up again and lost myself in the tiny clumps of snow falling and the trees and bushes rustling quietly in the cool breeze. I took a slow, deep breath, feeling the frigid air in my lungs. Even the sound of traffic seemed distant to me in here. It felt so wonderful to stop for a minute, to experience peacefulness in the insanity that was New York. 

After a few minutes, I heard footsteps approaching me and I looked over my shoulder. Peter had his phone out and I heard the clicking noise as he took a picture.

“What was that for?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.

“You looked so beautiful in the snow, I just had to take a picture,” he smiled. “That’s totally going to be my next background.”

“Aww,” I blushed. “I’m wallpaper material?”

“Of course you are!” He closed the distance between us and showed me the photo you just took. “Maybe I’ve been thinking about this all wrong. I should totally be a photographer!”

“Okay, I’m not going to lie… I look fucking good,” I gasped, staring down at his phone.

He’d caught the moment perfectly. My face was turned to the camera while my body was angled away. My lips were slightly parted and there was a little sparkle in my eye. The snow fell around me, framing me in the centre. 

“Seriously, send that to me. I’m making that my profile pic on absolutely everything.”

He laughed and took my hand, pulling me towards the exit. We strolled along, in no hurry at all.

“Do you think they would have liked me?” I asked, shyly.

He looked over at me and smiled, the skin around his eyes crinkling. He squeezed my hand tightly. “I know they would have. They would have absolutely loved you.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

“And just to make sure, are you 100% positive you’ve got the right kid?”

“For the millionth time, yes. I saw him without his mask on. I fucking know it’s him.”

“Okay dude, chill! I believe you. I just don’t want to be targeting some random kid.”

“You won’t be. This little shit deserves it.”

“Alright. I’m getting out tomorrow and we can set this whole thing in motion.”

“That little spider fucker isn’t going to know what hit him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think!  
> Your likes and comments honestly mean the world to me <3  
> This story is insanely fun for me to write! :D


	5. No Alternative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter: Bomb/Explosion, Poisoning, Public Panic

Peter visited his parents and Ben again the next week. I’d wanted to go with him, but MJ and I had been putting off an assignment for a little too long… like it was due the next day too long… May was lucky enough to have that day off so she went with him. 

He called me afterwards to give me the rundown. He told me that Tony had been at their apartment when they’d returned from the cemetery. May and Tony were rarely in the same room, so it was most likely going to be something serious. They ordered Thai and sat down to have a discussion. May and Tony said that since it was Peter’s final few months of high school, focusing on his grades and his schoolwork should be his top priority. To their surprise, Peter agreed with them. He still wanted to dedicate some time to Spider-Man and his self-appointed duties, but MIT was his dream and he knew had to put in the effort to make it happen. Tony said that his grades were most likely good enough to be accepted anyway, but Peter argued that he needed to get a full scholarship otherwise he wouldn’t be able to afford it. 

May and Tony shared a look, knowing they’d already discussed the billionaire creating a scholarship specifically for Peter. May wasn’t usually one to accept “charity”, but she was willing to compromise in this case, knowing just how much that school meant for Peter. Not to mention the fact that the name Tony Stark had a fair amount of pull at MIT, so a personalised scholarship was nothing for him. 

They’d agreed on a maximum of three patrols a week and a curfew: 10pm on weeknights and 11pm on weekends, until he graduated. He could also keep up his weekly lab visits with Tony, as long as he was on top of his schoolwork. 

The conversation with his parental figures spurred our friend group to talk about our college aspirations. Peter was obviously going to follow a similar path to Tony’s, which he’d been planning to do basically since birth. I hadn’t 100% decided on what I was doing yet, still tossing up between 1 or 2… or 4 possible options. Ned was going to apply at MIT as well as some other schools to study computer science and programming. MJ wanted to be involved in politics. Well… more involved, in a way that actually allowed her to get paid. Somehow, protesting didn’t bring in all that much cash. Or any cash, really.

It definitely felt strange knowing that it was highly likely we’d all be heading in separate directions in just a few months. After spending so many years together, seeing each other virtually every day, the idea of being so far apart or even losing contact with each other felt really weird. 

With Peter and I, it was even weirder. I’d applied to schools in both New York and Massachusetts to keep my options open. I hoped I’d be able to go with Peter, but like I’d told him, “Hey, if I can handle dating a superhero, I think I can handle a bit of long distance.” And it wasn’t like he’d be going to England or Australia or anything like that. Massachusetts was only a 4-5 hour drive or a short plane trip. Irritating and a little out of the way, yeah. But still, totally manageable. 

Plus, Peter was getting his own car for his 17th birthday! May had let that one slip, thankfully only to me though. He was still totally in the dark about it. She’d been giving him driving lessons in empty parking lots and they were going… okay. He still had months to get the hang of it. Tony had also offered to lend a hand and give him a lesson or two, though he wasn’t always known to be the most conscientious of drivers. I knew I was getting a second-hand car at some point in the future, and my driving lessons were coming along fairly well.

Things seemed to be happening so quickly, though. It was kind of hard to keep up. Tests upon tests faced us at school, college applications, career advice and the usual scary adult life lectures we got every now and then from our teachers. Flash had probably gotten the most of those. “You can’t just slack off and expect to progress in life. You have to work hard, set realistic goals for yourself and strive to be the best you can be.” They all started to blur together as time went on.

It was easy to get buried under the amount of work they expected us to do. I’d heard that two hours of homework a night was the usual amount, but that didn’t really help when each teacher seemed to be assigning two hours of homework. With Peter, Ned and MJ’s help though, we managed to stay afloat and keep going.

One thing I was looking forward to was the field trip to the Museum of Modern Art our English class was going on. Why we were going to an art museum for an English class, I wasn’t too sure about. Something about pairing together an art piece from inside the museum with a piece of classic literature and writing about it? Ehh, I wasn’t asking questions. We got to be out of school for half a day, so I was all for it.

And just a few days after the field trip was our first anniversary! Fanfare! Fireworks! Excitement! He hadn’t told me anything about what we were yet, just that he was setting up the whole thing. Valentine’s Day had been pretty chill. I spent the night at his apartment. We ordered pizza, watched dumb videos on YouTube (one of which being a hilarious Spider-Man stunt compilation complete with action music). It’s also possible I left with a hickey or two… maybe. And we’d also possibly spent some time without shirts… maybe. May had come home before anything  _ really _ happened, but she made sure to knock loudly on the door and call out just to make sure we were entirely aware that she was back. It was a good thing she did though because it gave us just enough time to get dressed and look totally innocent.

I’d been over to Peter’s place once after Valentine’s Day and May had taken a surprisingly Tony-like sense of humour about us, sporting a rather knowing smirk. She’s also put a couple condoms in Peter’s room. We had been hanging out and doing homework, when Peter had opened his desk drawer and broke off mid-sentence, coughing uncontrollably, his face bright red. He slammed the drawer shut and didn’t look at me, ignoring my curiosity. I snuck a peek when he went to the bathroom a little while later, not able to hide my giggles from him when he came back, immediately prompting another tomato red face.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Bright and sparkling on Monday morning… so like 10am, our English class trudged onto the school bus for the sluggish drive to the museum. Heavy New York traffic made the drive about ten times longer than it should have been, to the point where it might honestly have been faster for us to just walk there (probably not, but shhh). The sun glinted obnoxiously off the full front wall of glass panes, the glare hiding the interior of the building from our view. Flash stuck out his leg as Peter walked past his seat, making Peter stumble and almost fall down the stairs as he left the bus. I’d already gotten off the bus so all I could do was glare at the asshole. MJ got him back though, ‘accidentally’ whacking him in the head with her elbow as she walked by him.

Our English teacher, Ms. Cunningham, made sure we were all there, for about the eighth time, and herded us past the trees and fountains lining the walkway and into the lobby.

The museum seemed fairly busy, though I wasn’t really sure what was considered normal traffic for a museum. Along with several quite obvious tourists paying admission, there was another group of students from a different school. 

A woman approached our group. She was dressed in a dark grey turtleneck, black pants and simple black heels. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun, with two strands left loose to hang on either side of her face. 

“Hey, you’re the group from Midtown, right?” She smiled at us pleasantly, her voice cheerful.

“That’s right,” Ms. Cunningham confirmed.

“Alright, perfect!” She clapped her hands together. “Okay guys, I’m Rebecca. I’ll be your tour guide for today. If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ask.

She handed out bright yellow tags for us to write our names on, both to distinguish us from the other student group, who had been sporting green tags, as well as to make the tour seem somewhat more personalised since the woman could use our names. 

She led us through the lobby and into the museum. The wooden floors shone so brightly that I half expected to slip as we followed Rebecca. Peter and I walked in the middle of the group, with MJ and Ned strolling along just in front of us.

“You can take pictures in most areas, and there are signs in the areas that photography isn’t allowed in,” she explained. “There are five exhibits taking place currently in different sections of the museum. Three of them are long term exhibits, meaning there are no current plans to remove them. The other two are limited time exhibits that will be finished in about a week. We’ll only be visiting one of them today, so if you want to see the others you’ll have to come back on your own. I recommend it though; they’re definitely worth the visit.”

We stopped in a large room, filled with various sculptures. Flash wandered over to a statue of a naked woman, followed by his friends Jason and Charlie. They sniggered and joked, pointing to the statue’s chest. Ms. Cunningham mumbled, “Oh dear god” and even Rebecca rolled her eyes. Cindy, Sally and Betty made their way over to an abstract piece, resembling twisting ribbons or vines. Ned and MJ spotted some sort of snowman looking piece and made their way over to it. I went to follow them, but I saw Peter stiffen out of the corner of my eye, his face twisting in confusion. I pulled him over to the closest sculpture so we wouldn’t look suspicious.

“You okay?” I asked, keeping my voice quiet. 

“Huh, what?” He shook his head slightly to clear it. When his eyes met mine, I could clearly see him force his face to look casual again. He wasn’t completely successful, but it was a good attempt. “Oh, yeah I’m fine! Why do you ask?”

“You’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?” I frowned, reaching out to lace my fingers through his.

“Don’t stress. It was just a random weird feeling, they’re not that unusual,” he shrugged, managing to sound semi-convincing.

“If you’re sure…” I said, uncertainly.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close, pressing his lips against my forehead. “I’m sure.”

“Hey,” Ms. Cunningham called out, her voice stern. We turned our heads to see her glaring at us. “Hands off please!”

Peter apologised and stepped away from me, slipping his hands into his pockets. I followed him over to join Ned and MJ, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he hadn’t been 100% honest with me.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Our tour continued up onto the second, third and fourth floors, passing by hundreds or even thousands of art pieces. Somehow Flash’s group managed to find every piece depicting nudity absolutely hilarious. Charlie and Jason were almost crying with laughter when Flash announced “mine’s bigger” as he stared at a statue of a naked athlete. It seemed that was the last straw for Ms. Cunningham, hissing that all three of them were going to be in detention for the next week. She threatened to add an extra week for every time they made crude jokes from that point on. They didn’t seem to take her threat seriously since not ten minutes later, they were up to two weeks of detention. 

Peter’s acting had improved, but he still seemed off. MJ pulled me over to look at a painting that caught her eye and I noticed Peter speaking quietly to Ned, who looked a mixture of nervous and excited. Ned was even worse at hiding his emotions than Peter was. 

About 90 minutes had passed since the tour began when Peter walked over to the teacher.

“Ms. Cunningham, could I go to the bathroom, please?” he asked.

She sighed, clearly annoyed. “Peter, this is important. This assignment is worth 30% of your grade.”

He nodded, trying to look apologetic. “Believe me, I understand, ma’am,” he told her. “But this is kind of… urgent.”

She huffed, then glanced up as she saw Rebecca coming over.

“It’s alright. As far as I know, we haven’t gotten to the pieces that are most relevant to your assignment yet,” she smiled. “We’ll be in the exhibit on the fifth floor.”

Peter looked at Ms. Cunningham for confirmation, smiling in relief when she gave him a begrudging nod. “Thank you! I’ll be right back.”

He walked away from the group, more of a speed walk than a casual stroll. I frowned, feeling a wave of anxiety rush over me.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Basically, from the minute he’d walked into the museum, his Spidey Senses (as Ned had taken to calling them) had been screaming at him almost non-stop. It started off as a subtle prickling on the back of his neck then started escalating more and more as time went on until it was impossible to ignore any longer.

Peter walked towards the bathroom until he was out of sight of Ms. Cunningham, then abruptly changed direction. The sensation seemed to get stronger as he walked towards the back rooms of the museum. The bright yellow sticker seemed way too obvious, so he tore it off his shirt and stuffed it into his back pocket.

The size of the museum was more of a hindrance to him than beneficial and he was forced to walk at a normal pace to avoid suspicion. He felt his phone buzz in his jacket pocket to see two texts. 

 

**Guy in the Chair:** Found anything that could be setting off your senses yet? 

 

In any other situation, Peter would have smiled at Ned’s enthusiasm, but he was far too on edge for that. He sent off a quick text to say he hadn’t found anything yet before he opened the other message.

 

**Gorgeous Girl <3: ** Are you sure everything is okay? I’m worried…

 

He bit his lip, feeling his chest ache slightly as he read his girlfriend’s anxious words. He hated lying to her, but he didn’t want to stress her out further until he had some sort of information. After one last glance at her profile picture, the one he’d taken of her in the cemetery, he put his phone away.

More forced insanely slow walking and he found himself in front of a staff only door, which he pushed through without hesitation. He passed by a mop and bucket pushed up against the wall and glanced into rooms filled with crates, probably full of carefully packaged art pieces for future displays. He walked much faster now that he was out of the public eye. If he was caught back here, he had no way to explain what he was doing.

The sensation felt even stronger as he paused in front of the fourth door in the hallway. His nerves were at an all-time high and he took a deep breath, pushing forward cautiously into the small room. It looked like a storage room, with large metal shelves lining the walls stacked with a small array of power tools, hardware, cleaning supplies and cardboard boxes. The room had the same concrete floor, brick walls and slightly musty feeling as the rest of the back rooms. The one thing that was different about this room was that he wasn’t alone in it.

The man was dressed in a MoMA security uniform, black shirt with a name tag and black pants. Peter went to stammer out some form of excuse, some version of ‘I took a wrong turn looking for the bathrooms and am also illiterate which is why I went by the staff sign’, but he stopped when he looked at the man’s face. He didn’t look suspicious as to why Peter was there. He seemed  _ pleased _ . He had short dark blonde, piercing blue eyes and a smug twist to his mouth.

His Spidey Senses screamed.

“Spider-Man.”

Peter immediately tensed but did his best to hide the reaction. “What? Uhh, sorry I got a bit lo-”

“Let’s cut the bullshit, shall we?” The man said bluntly. “Play dumb if you want, but I’ve got it on good authority that you’re Spider-Man. Not going to lie, I’m a little disappointed. You’re no Tony Stark or Steve Rogers.”

“Who are you?” Peter asked. His web shooters were primed on his wrist, ready for use, but he needed more information first.

“Me? My name is Trevor Dickson,” the man smirked. “No need to wrack your brain, you wouldn’t know me. I doubt you even know the name of the person I’m here on behalf of. Herman Schultz.”

He was wrong. Peter did know the name. Herman Schultz, the man who’d attacked him outside of the school on Homecoming night, currently in prison.

“Well, even if you do know him, I doubt you’ll know this. Herman Schultz is my brother. Half-brother yes, but still my brother,” Trevor explained.

Yep, not good. He’d heard enough, but just before he went to attack, Trevor lifted his hand and wagged a finger mockingly at him.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” Trevor stepped to the side, revealing a black box with a blinking light on top. He held up his right hand, holding what Peter assumed was a detonator switch. “Right here is a pretty serious bomb, enough to wreck this building and to kill even you, Mr. Hero.”

Peter clenched his fists. “What do you want?”

“Well… you won’t be making it out of this one alive, unfortunately. In my pocket, I have some pills. Each pill is full of enough cyanide to kill a fully grown adult, and I’ve got three of them,” he explained, patting his pocket gently. “I’m nice enough to give you a choice though. Option one: you can take the pills, dying alone and possibly somewhat painfully. I can’t say for sure on the pain level; I’ve never used it myself. Option two: you can choose the bomb, blowing up yourself, me and an indeterminate amount of civilians. Tick-tock, Petey boy. Take too long to decide and the bomb will go off anyway.”

Peter didn’t want to die. Things were finally going well again. May had a good job, he had a beautiful and amazing girlfriend, wonderful friends, a brilliant mentor who he was also lucky enough to call his friend, and he might even be going to MIT in the fall.

He didn’t want to die. He wanted to live.

It seemed like that wasn’t on the cards though, not for him. He couldn’t see a way out and he didn’t have time to come up with one. Dying at the hands of a revenge-fuelled bad guy definitely wasn’t the way he thought he’d go out, but if he had the choice between dying alone and being responsible for a large number… or any number of civilian deaths, there was one clear choice. And he’d make it every single time.

“Can I at least say goodbye to a few people?” Peter asked quietly, mentally composing the text messages.

“No. You’ll be dying alone.” Trevor shook his head, no sympathy in his eyes. “Wrist things off and throw them over to the wall.”

Peter moved slowly, making his movements obvious so Trevor wouldn’t set off the bomb. He slipped the web shooters off his arms and tossed them over to the door. Trevor reached into his pocket and threw a tiny packet to Peter. He caught it easily, staring down at the three identical white pills in the bag. They looked completely innocent, about double the size of everyday painkillers.

“All three?” His voice was weak, tired.

“All three,” Trevor confirmed.

Peter sized them up. “I don’t think I can take all three at once.”

“Hmm… I would’ve thought all that time with Stark would’ve loosened up your throat, gotten rid of that gag reflex,” the man chuckled.

Peter didn’t reply, ignoring the man’s attempt at a jab. He just stared down at the pills.

Trevor rolled his eyes. “Take them one after the other, then. But do it quickly.”

Peter pulled out the pills and placed them on his palm, drawing out each and every movement to prolong his life by even just a few seconds. Every second, he went over the name of a person he loved, thinking about the apology and the goodbye he would have given each one. To Tony, to May, to Ned, to MJ, to Pepper, to her…

Trevor cleared his throat, holding up the detonator and looking at it appraisingly and Peter knew his time was up. He opened his mouth, put the first pill in and bit down.

Immediately, his mouth was burning slightly and the cyanide tasted bitter on his tongue. He resisted the urge to spit it out, instead swallowing it down. It felt wrong going down his throat.

Just as he was about to take the next one, the door swung open. Both Peter and Trevor froze and stared at the security guard that stood in the doorway.

The guard reached for the holster on his belt. “Hey! What are you two doing in here?”

Trevor snarled in frustration, turning his glare on Peter. “Sorry boy, I’m going to have to go back on our deal. I’m not going back to prison for this.”

Peter let out a desperate “NO!”, stumbling forward to somehow stop the bomb, the pills falling forgotten from his hand. Trevor shut his eyes and jammed his finger down on the button.

The world went white and Peter was thrown backward. Liquid ran from his ears from the deafening bang and he felt his back slam into the brick wall, then down onto the concrete floor. He only had a second to absorb that before a heavy force crashed down onto his back, pinning him to the floor. The pain hadn’t hit him yet, but the poison was definitely starting to creep through his body.

His world faded from brilliant white to black and Peter let himself be swallowed by it.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Rebecca walked purposefully forward, her simple black heels clicking loudly on the floor. “Now one of the current exhibition we have right now is the 1880s to 1950s collection, which I’m sure you know means that all of the pieces we have on display here were created in that time period.”

She gestured towards the various paintings and sculptures. “There’s a wide variety in this exhibit, with the pieces varying in terms of stylistic movements and themes. You’ll also notice some very recognisable pieces that we’re lucky enough to have on display, with paintings by Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Andy Warhol, just to name a few. In my opinion, the pieces in this section are going to be your best bet for your assignment.”

I tuned out the woman’s voice, which I did feel bad about since she seemed genuinely passionate about the art around us. At that moment though, my anxiety was louder than her speech. I twisted the pen restlessly between my fingers, capping and recapping it and definitely getting ink on my skin. Peter had been gone for close to half an hour.

I pulled out my phone, almost letting out a whine of disappointment when I saw I had no new messages. I bit my lip, nervously, then opened up my conversation with Tony. We hadn’t exchanged that many messages and basically every message had something to do with Peter. It seemed like that trend was going to continue. I paused, my thumbs hovering over the buttons. Was this a text Tony kind of situation? Would he be annoyed if it turned out to be nothing? I hesitated for a couple seconds more, then finally started writing the text. I’d much rather be wrong and look like an idiot than not have done anything.

 

**Me:** Uhh. hey Tony. Look this may turn out to be nothing, but I need to say something…

**Me:** We’re on a trip at MoMA and Peter’s been off, like really off. And he disappeared about 30 minutes ago and I’m really worried. I think something is happening.

**Me:** If I’m wrong, you can laugh at me and call me an idiot, but please look into this. Please…

 

I gripped my phone tightly, staring down at my message and waiting for his reply to appear. I glanced up when I heard Ned call my name and I looked up to see him and MJ gesturing at me to join them. No new messages had popped up. I sighed, starting to walk over to my friends.

I froze abruptly as a deafening bang ripped through the relative quiet of the museum, immediately followed by a shrill ringing in my ears. The whole building shook, the floor trembling beneath my feet. I could hear the sound of glass shattering on lower levels of the building and people had started screaming. I reached my hands out to the wall to my left to brace myself, my heart racing a million miles an hour. 

This was it. 

I brought up my texts again, hurriedly tapping out a new message. 

 

**Me:** BOMB! Please hurry!!!!!

 

Rebecca and Ms. Cunningham were trying to calm everyone down. Their words were lost in the chaos. Several students and even some nearby adults had their hands over their ears.

“-ryone over here, please! There are stairs nearby we can use to get out,” Rebecca projected. “Everyone stay calm and move carefully. We don’t know how stable the building is.”

Our group slowly trudged forward, following behind the other patrons. Two men in the museum uniform hurried over to Rebecca and they spoke in anxious whispers. Betty sobbed quietly, clutching desperately at Cindy’s hand. Ned’s hands were shaking and MJ was biting her lip, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Flash seemed to have lost all his earlier humour as he walked along silently, his face shockingly pale.

The stairs were still intact, thank god. They seemed to be stable since we could see people on lower levels making their way to the exit, the majority of whom were handling the situation calmly. One woman was huddled in the corner, panting heavily and looking like she was on the brink of a breakdown. A man had his arm wrapped around her, trying to calm her down so they could get to safety.

“What if there’s another one?” Sally whimpered. Betty sobbed louder.

No one answered her, but we all started moving a little faster.

“Oh god, Peter,” Ms. Cunningham gasped, missing her next step and catching herself on the railing. Her eyes darted over to look at me, Ned and MJ. “Have you heard anything from him?”

When we all shook our heads, she ran her fingers worriedly through her hair, messing up her neat bun. 

He wasn't in the explosion. He wasn’t in the explosion. He’s fine. He’s fine.  _ He’s fine _ !

Unsurprisingly, my affirmations didn’t ease the pit I felt in my stomach. The one that told me Peter had absolutely been in that explosion and was laying somewhere hurt right now.

“Did he say anything to either of you?” MJ asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“I could tell that something was wrong,” I told her, speaking in a hushed voice. “But he was trying to play it off so I wouldn’t worry. A lot of good that did…”

Ned frowned, looking guilty. “He could sense something and went to investigate it. He didn’t tell me anything else about it though.”

We went silent again, lost in our worried thoughts. The journey from the fifth floor down to the entrance of the museum was agonisingly slow, delayed both by the fear of the building collapsing and the large number of people who’d been visiting. Finally, we made it outside and we moved to the side to let more people pass by. Ms. Cunningham begged us to stay in one place, then rushed over to the nearest police officer to tell him about Peter.

Looking at the museum from street view was interesting. From the front, the building looked totally fine… well, aside from the dark grey smoke rising from the structure. The glass panes on covering the face of the building were relatively undamaged, maybe a crack here or there. The glass on the side of the building likely hadn’t fared as well, based on the shards I could see people cleaning up. Police, firefighters and paramedics swarmed the area, cars blocking off either end of the street. Curious people stared at the damage, pointing up at the building and gasping, distracted from their everyday routines by the blast.

The gasps suddenly grew louder and some people even started to cheer. Before I could ask what was happening, Iron Man appeared, landing about thirty feet away from our group. He’d updated his suit since I last saw it. The new suit was still his classic red and gold colouring of course, but it looked sleeker and somewhat less bulky. The anxiety I felt pressing down on my chest eased slightly and I finally smiled, feeling hope for the first time in about three hours. A weak smile, but a smile nonetheless.

He spoke to the officers outside, then shot off again, moving over to the rising smoke and disappearing down into it. I stared after him, silently begging any god who might have been listening that he would find Peter. Five absolutely horrible and tense minutes later, Tony flew out of the building…

...with a limp, burned and unconscious Peter in his arms.

I gasped, my legs shaking so badly that I would have fallen to the ground had MJ not caught me. It was one thing to suspect Peter was injured, it was another entirely to see him so badly hurt. I’d seen him with heaps of cuts and bruises before, the kind that was completely healed two hours later. I’d even seen him with a cracked rib before, an unfortunate result of him smashing into a steel pipe when he was distracted. This was different though… His chest was moving so shallowly that he didn’t even look alive. I gripped MJ’s arm, my eyes locked on Tony. 

Tony landed back down on the concrete, his boots clanking loudly against the stone as he walked back to the officers. His helmet retracted, his voice carried just loud enough that I could hear him. “There’s a body in there. I can’t say for sure, but I’d put my money on him being the bomber. I couldn’t see anyone else.”

A nearby paramedic held out his arms for Peter, his face serious. “We can take care of him.”

Tony shook his head, holding Peter tightly to his chest. “I’ve got a med team prepped to take care of him. Do you think you can handle this situation? Peter needs immediate help.”

The officer nodded his head. “All the civilians are evacuated and we doubt there’s a second explosive inside. We’ve got this.”

“Good.” The helmet popped back over his face and he activated his thrusters, disappearing between the high rises. 

A few seconds later, my phone rang loudly. I jumped, pulling the device from my pocket. Tony’s picture smiled back at me and I scrambled to answer it. I walked a few steps away from the group, very aware of the stares I was getting from my classmates.

There was no time for pleasantries. “Tony, is he going to be okay?” 

“I don’t know kiddo,” he sighed heavily. “He was only a few feet away from the explosion and for some reason, Friday’s scans show he has cyanide in his system.”

“What?” I gasped, the noise coming out strangled. Breathing was suddenly a lot more difficult. “How… I… Tony…”

“I know this isn’t fair, but I need you to ring May,” he told me. I’d never heard Tony sound so defeated before. It was honestly disturbing. “I need to focus on getting Peter to help as soon as possible.”

“Okay, okay. I can do that,” I nodded. “Can I come see him?”

“Not right away. Once we have him stable, Happy can drive you and May out here to see him. But, I’ll call you, okay?” 

Not the answer I wanted, but the one I would have to accept. “Alright. Please keep me updated.”

“Of course,” he promised. 

The line went dead, his voice replaced with the beeps of disconnection. My arm sunk back down to my side and I let my legs give out, collapsing down to the ground. Ned and MJ walked over to me, their faces full of concern.

“Hey…” MJ murmured, sinking down next to me, her hand on my shoulder.

“Tony doesn’t know if he’ll make it,” I whispered, afraid if I spoke the words too loudly they’d become real.

MJ’s hand clenched tighter, her tiny gasp letting me know she was just as stunned as I was. Ned hovered just behind us. We sat together, staring numbly at the chaos in front of us. Sirens blocked out the hum of conversation around us and I glanced down at my phone, my finger hovering over May’s number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name for Herman's brother came from one of the stunt doubles for the role (Trevor Dickerson), and I tweaked it a tiny bit.  
> Also, this whole situation was supposed to happen in chapter four and now it's going to be spread over (currently) three chapters.  
> As always, let me know what you think! As of right now, it looks like this fic will end on the 6th chapter, maybe a 7th for an epilogue.  
> Thank you so much for all your likes, bookmarks, comments and for just reading it in general. It means the world to me <3


	6. The Future Looks Bright

_“An explosion devastated the Museum of Modern Art yesterday. The bomb is believed to have been located in a rear room of the building. One casualty has been reported so far, who the police believe was the culprit behind the bombing. Four civilians were unfortunately caught in the blast as well, mostly including staff members. They have been taken to local hospitals, with injuries ranging from mild to severe. A student was pulled from the wreckage by Iron Man who appeared shortly after the explosion. After checking with authorities to make sure the situation was under control, Iron Man flew away, taking the student with him. The boy has been identified as Peter Parker, intern to Tony Stark. His condition is currently unknown, due to him receiving private medical treatment, though paramedics who saw the boy post-explosion say he is most likely in critical condition. The building suffered moderate structural damage, causing the building to be currently unsafe for entry. Police say they are thoroughly investigating the explosion, and hope to know the identity of the culprit as well as their motive soon.”_

May stared down at the newspaper in her hands, re-reading the article that we both knew by heart, but still re-read over and over again. The paper had definitely degraded in quality since Pepper had bought it, the day after the incident. The edges were torn and the whole thing was crumpled and tear-stained, the main item we’d used as our emotional outlet. There was no empathy in the words, just facts. Just Peter Parker- Tony Stark’s intern. If only they knew.

And ‘most likely in critical condition’. Yeah… probably a valid statement.

That was if three broken ribs, five bones broken in the legs, a fractured skull, two fractured wrists, a collapsed lung, and shrapnel in the chest counted as critical condition of course. And that was just from the explosion. That didn’t even cover the fact that he, for some insane reason, had somehow ingested cyanide. And a lot of it. If he wasn’t Spider-Man, he would have been dead within minutes. And even with his enhanced metabolism and rapid fast healing, he still almost died. He’d had two seizures while they were trying to remove the shrapnel.

I was glad I hadn’t been there for that… Tony looked haunted, like a man who’d been dragged down to the depths of hell and witnessed the horrors. He had no quips, no sarcasm, no jokes. Just a distant expression and trembling hands that he didn’t even bother trying to hide.

Peter though… Peter looked peaceful. Just like he was sleeping. If I ignored the bandaged cuts on his face and the deep purple bruising that peeked out from underneath his shirt, it was easier to imagine that was exactly what he was doing. But he wasn’t just sleeping, he was in a coma. Had been since the explosion, four days ago.

I lifted my head up to look at him again, the constant _beep beep beep_ of the heart monitor giving me a much appreciated reminder that he was still alive. The only other noise in the room was a very quiet dripping sound coming from the IV connected to his left arm.

May was perched on a chair next to his bed, her hair drawn back into a braid. Well if it could be called a braid since half her hair had fallen out of it anyway. In my defence, I had done it hours ago and she’d run her fingers through it so many times that it really had no chance of surviving anyway. The afternoon light filtered through the window. It was mostly blocked by the blinds hanging over the glass, but the breeze from the air conditioner rustled them every so often, allowing more of the vibrant orange sunlight into the room.

She reached over and brushed a few stray strands of hair off Peter’s face, her face weary and tired, emphasised by the dark bags under her eyes. I watched her stretch, reaching her arms over her head and hearing a crack as one of her joints cracked. Her back had to be killing her; the couch in Peter’s recovery room, the one I was sprawled out on right now, was comfortable enough but not anywhere near as comfortable as a bed. Tony offered her a guest room, but she politely declined, not wanting to leave her nephew.

As much as I’d begged to stay by his side the entire time he was unconscious, both Tony and my parents had told me that my education was still important, so I’d been forcing myself to go to school every day, getting a ride from either Happy or one of my parents to the Tower every day after school. It didn’t make much sense to me, most of my attention was on Peter, laying in that unforgiving hospital bed. Tony and May were there for him, I knew that. May had been saving up her holiday time so she and Peter could have a vacation, but she’d used a week of it so she wouldn’t have to leave his side.

I was terrified of getting that call, the one where they’d tell me that Peter wasn’t breathing anymore and I hadn’t been there for him. Tony was trying to keep everyone positive, as much as he could, telling us that it was just a matter of time and that Peter would wake up once his body felt recovered enough. Ned and MJ asked every day for updates on his condition, forgetting that I’d promised to text them if anything changed. But every day, they’d ask and every day, I’d say, “No, he’s still asleep. He’ll be okay though, I know he will.” Every day, they’d nod their heads worriedly and reply, “Of course he will.”

“I’m going to grab some coffee. Do you want anything?”

May’s voice broke through the silence, jerking me from my thoughts. I jumped and glanced up at her, ignoring the dark line of ink I’d just accidentally drawn over my homework page and part of my leg.

“Oh whoops, sorry honey. I didn’t mean to scare you,” May said, a faint smile on her face. “I need some caffeine and I wanted to know if you wanted anything?”

“Uh, maybe some water?” I shrugged. “I’m not really feeling hungry yet.”

“Peter would want you to eat,” she reminded me, a knowing look in her eyes.

“Peter would want you to sleep in an actual bed,” I countered, trying to keep force down the twinge of irritation I felt. I knew she meant well. “And I am eating. I’m just not hungry right now.”

She chuckled, the sound quiet. “Okay, I’ll give you that one. I’ll take Tony up on his offer of a guest room if you’ll have dinner with us tonight. Tony’s ordering Italian.”

I hesitated, looking over at Peter’s prone form, then nodded at her. “Yeah, okay. Do you think Tony would be mad if I invited my parents? They mentioned wanting to see Peter and I know they’re getting worried about me not being home as much.”

She smiled. “Get Friday to pass on your question. You’ll get a faster answer that way, but I doubt he’ll have an issue with it.” She walked out of the room, the door sliding shut silently behind her.

Talking to Tony’s AI was still interesting for me, and I couldn’t resist looking up each time I did, despite knowing the AI didn’t reside in the ceiling.

“Hey, Friday?”

“Yes, Miss,” the soft, computerised voice said.

“Could you ask Tony if my parents can join us for dinner tonight?” I asked hesitantly. “O-only if he’s not busy of course.”

“Of course, Miss,” she replied. “Give me a few seconds.”

I tried to focus on the maths problems on the page in front of me, only slightly crossed out by my unintentional scribble. I managed to re-read the same question three times without absorbing any of the information by the time the AI responded.

“Sir says he’s fine with your parents coming for dinner and that he will change the order to suit six people. Dinner will be at 7pm.”

I looked up at the ceiling again. “Thank you, Friday.”

“You’re welcome, Miss.”

I typed out a quick invitation text and sent it to my mom, getting an affirmative reply back fairly quickly. I tried to force my attention back to my homework, but after two more re-reads of the same question, I called it quits.

Peter’s heart monitor beeped louder and I looked up to see a slight spike on the screen. His face didn’t change though, still remained as peaceful as ever. My legs were half asleep as I set aside my homework and pushed myself off the couch. The pins and needles set in, making my walk more like a stagger. I managed to make it to the chair May had vacated and I wearily collapsed down onto it.

Peter’s hand rested on top of the plain white sheet that covered the rest of his body, so I slowly reached forward and covered it with mine. His skin was cooler than usual, probably a result of the air conditioning, but it was a welcome change. The first day I’d come and seen him, his skin was hot and fevered as his body worked to fight the poisoning and the trauma it had been through.

Peter’s bedside tables were covered in vases, packed full of flowers from well-wishers, students and friends. A small box, wrapped in shiny red paper and complete with a blue ribbon lay in between the vases. It was a newer addition to his gift/get well soon pile, one that I’d placed there myself only a couple hours ago. Staring at the box made my breath catch in my throat and I quickly looked away, looking down at my fingers and gently tracing Peter’s hand.

As I sat there, my eyelids started to feel heavy and I could feel myself drifting off. I rested my other arm on the bed, using it as a makeshift pillow. The soft beeping of the medical equipment lulled me to sleep.

A gentle pushing on my shoulder woke me up again. I blinked my eyes tiredly, not fully awake yet, and saw my mother standing beside me.

“Hey hon,” she smiled.

“Hi mom,” I said, suppressing a yawn. “What time is it?”

“Just before 7,” she answered. “Your dad and I have been here for about half an hour, but we didn’t want to disturb you. Dinner just arrived though.”

“Oh right.” I nodded slowly. “I’ll be out in just a second.”

“Don’t go falling asleep on me again,” she laughed, walking towards the door.

“I won’t,” I promised.

My limbs didn’t want to fully cooperate, apparently unwilling to leave the unplanned nap I’d just taken. After a few seconds, I got to my feet and leaned forward to kiss Peter’s cheek, keeping the touch light enough to not aggravate the bruise on his face.

“I love you,” I whispered, my lips still close enough to brush against his skin with every word I spoke. I wished more than anything that my words would be able to reach him. “Happy anniversary.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

The days were passing slowly, but they were still passing. The pile of homework I’d been collecting for Peter grew taller and taller, pages that the teachers would hand me with sad smiles and sympathetic words.

Five days turned into six. Six turned into seven. May took another week off work. One afternoon, I went to walk into Peter’s med room only to see May hunched over on the bed next to him, her body shaking as she sobbed. I froze, my hand hovering over the door handle. Part of me wanted to go inside and cry with her, to just get rid of my need to be strong for even a little while. The other part of me knew she needed some time alone to just be with her nephew, the closest thing she had to a son.

I turned around, trying to make as little noise as possible, and walked back to the living room. There were three floors between the living areas of the Tower and the medical areas. The elevator seemed to be moving at more of a crawl than its usual speed. The couch looked incredibly inviting and I slumped down onto it with a groan, relaxing against the plush cushions, dumping my backpack next to the sofa leg. I let myself just relax for a few minutes, an arm thrown over my face to cover my eyes. The couch was a perfect mix of firm and squishy and it would be so easy to just close my eyes and drift off for a few hours.

There was work that needed to be done though. As sympathetic and understanding as my teachers were, I still had assignments to complete and exams to study for. At the present moment, my chemistry report was the biggest priority, due in just over a week. I reached down and pulled my excessively heavy textbook and my notebook from my backpack, flipping the books open to the pages I’d marked with ‘bookmarks’ aka random scraps of paper.

Somehow I managed to focus, jotting down notes, page numbers and possible information I could work into the report somehow, to pad out the word count a little. Before I knew it, I’d been working for half an hour. The sound of footsteps distracted me from my messy note taking and I glanced up.

“What’s up, buttercup?” Tony greeted. He wore a faded AC/DC shirt and old, somewhat stained jeans, a matte grey StarkPad tucked against his chest. “I would’ve thought you’d have been in with Peter by now.”

I hesitated before answering. “It kinda seemed like May wanted to be alone, so I figured I’d just hang out here for a bit.”

“Ahh, right.” He nodded his head, one side of his mouth pulling down. “How are you holding up?”

“Okay, I guess,” I shrugged, rolling my pen between my fingers. “You’d think I’d be getting used to it as time passes but… I’m not really.”

“No, I get that,” Tony sighed. “It’s really just a waiting game now, unfortunately. His breaks and fractures are all healed. His bruises are gone. Friday says there is no trace of the poison left in his system. So… it’s just up to him on when he wants to wake up now.”

“I’m usually a pretty patient person,” I laughed weakly. “But in this situation, I feel like the most impatient person ever.”

“It’s understandable,” Tony nodded, raising his voice slightly so I could hear him as he walked into the kitchen. He set his device down on the counter and started making himself a coffee. “You miss him. You want him to be okay. You want him to wake up. I think you’re entitled to be a little impatient.”

I gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Tony. That makes me feel a little better. Honestly, I was feeling kinda guilty over the whole thing.”

“Glad I could help,” he grinned. He blew on the steaming hot mug of coffee as he walked back into the living room. “Friday is kind of forcing me to take a break from the workshop and I’m sure May’s up for company by now. Do you wanna head into the med room with me?”

“Give me a minute.” I packed up my books and shoved them not so delicately back into my bag, then pulled the bag over one shoulder. “Okay, let’s go.”

May seemed to have recovered. Her face was still a bit red and blotchy, but she definitely seemed better. She sat in the chair next to Peter’s bed, a book perched on her legs that she had propped up on her nephew’s bed. Her head popped up when we walked in.

“Oh hey, sweetheart. Hey Tony,” she smiled, slipping her bookmark in between the pages to mark her spot before she closed it.

“What, I’m not a sweetheart?” Tony asked, looking offended.

“Not even close,” she teased, smirking at him.

“I’m hurt. I really am,” he sighed, slumping down onto the couch, utterly dejected. He sipped on his coffee and his face grew more serious. “Any change?”

I sat down next to Tony and stared at May for her answer. The woman shook her head, her eyes drifting back to Peter. “No. The doctor came in earlier and ran some tests again, but… still no change.”

Peter was in a different shirt than he’d been in the day before, a black t-shirt that read ‘I make horrible science puns, but only periodically’. His pun shirts always got an exaggerated groan from Tony, a loving eye roll from me and MJ, and a high five from Ned. Today though, I only smiled as I looked at it, a sad but fond smile. He looked so much better now that the bruising was completely gone. A strip of transparent tape with a cotton ball was stuck to the inside of his right elbow, where the doctor had taken his blood for the tests they’d performed earlier.

The flowers in his vases had begun to wilt the day before, so May had thrown them out and Tony had bought some fresh ones to replace them. They helped keep the room feel a little less sterile, though the heart monitor and IV added heavily to the sterile feeling.

“They just keep saying that physically he’s fine,” May frowned. “Mentally though…”

“He gets nightmares. I’ve seen him going through them. They’re awful,” I whispered, anxiously fiddling with my hands. “What if he’s just trapped in a nightmare and can’t wake up?”

Tony shifted on the couch, pulling one leg over the other. “I think all we can do is just let him know we’re here for him. We don’t know for sure if he can hear us, but we can try.”

“But… what if he doesn’t wake up?” My words were almost inaudible.

“Nope.” Tony shook his head. “This is the Tower of Positivity now. It’s way too easy to go down the path of negativity, believe me I know. I know waiting seems hard and that you feel like you’re doing nothing, but I know that if he could talk to you right now, he’d say that just you being here for him and spending time with him means the world to him.”

I looked down at my hands, feeling tears threatening to fall. My lip trembled and my words came out shaky as I said, “Okay… I’ll try.”

“Aww honey, come here.”

Tony opened his arms and I fell into them, letting him wrap me into a tight hug. The tears I’d been holding back broke free and I sobbed into his chest, clutching his shirt with all the strength I had. It was such a relief to just let myself cry, to be comforted. May got to her feet and walked over to sit behind me on the couch. She joined the hug, alternating between rubbing my back soothingly and stroking my hair, speaking softly to me the entire time.

The sobs practically ripped themselves from my throat, uncontrollable shudders running through my body. Hearing May’s whispered, “Let it out. It’s okay honey. Just breathe,” helped significantly and slowly, so slowly, I started to calm down. Even after my sobs had quieted down to sniffles, Tony kept his arms around me and May kept rubbing my back. It was only when I shifted slightly that they pulled back.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, hiding my face from them.

“Please don’t apologise, there’s no need for that at all,” May told me, putting her hand on top of mine.

I lifted my head, but the words I’d been about to speak died on the tip of my tongue when I saw Peter’s finger twitching. I gasped, eyes jerking to his face, waiting for his eyes to flutter open. Tony and May looked as well and May’s hand squeezed mine, her eyes wide. Even Tony was lost for words. We waited, hoping so desperately for him to wake, but his finger stopped moving and he was still again, only his chest rising and falling with his quiet breaths.

“He can hear us,” Tony declared, a smile growing on his face. May and I looked over at him, curiously. “He heard you crying, sweetheart. He wanted to comfort you.”

“You think?” I asked, a warm fuzzy feeling filling my chest.

“I know it,” he nodded.

“I was crying earlier…” May whispered. “Do you think he…”

“I don’t doubt it,” Tony told her. “He’s going to be okay.”

I pushed myself onto my feet and slid down onto May’s chair, feeling their eyes following me. Trembling, I reached out and put my hands on his.

“I’m here,” I promised. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I let out a shaky laugh, my eyes filling with fresh tears as I felt his finger move once again.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Saturday morning, twelve days after the explosion, I woke up to two texts, one from Tony and one from May. Any residual drowsiness immediately left me as I looked at their messages.

 

**Tony:** Hey, Happy’s on his way 👍

 

**May:** Come to the Tower as soon as possible. Something happened 😊

 

My heart raced in my chest. If it were something bad, they would have sounded much more worried… right? I jumped out of bed and found the nearest clean clothes, ending up with a pair of jean shorts, a black tank top, and one of Peter’s hoodies that he’d left at my house. I threw them on in the most graceful but quick was possible, totally not almost crashing into my dresser as I hopped around trying to get the shorts on. Pulling a brush through my absolutely stunning bed hair, I texted them back telling them I was on my way. Tony’s text had been sent thirty minutes ago, so Happy was either downstairs now or really close.

I called out a “Good morning! See you later!” to my parents and hurried downstairs, their called goodbyes echoing through the hallway. I knew they had to be surprised considering I was rushing out of the house at 7:30 on a Saturday. Definitely not a normal thing for me.

Happy was waiting outside, leaning against the back of the black sedan, tapping at his phone. He was dressed in a black suit accented with faint grey lines and dark glasses hid his eyes from view. It honestly seemed like the man didn’t know how to even try to dress casually. He glanced up when I walked over to him, pulling his glasses down a touch to look at me, then stepped away from the car enough to pull the back door open. I smiled and thanked him, crouching down to get inside, dropping my bag down onto the leather seat next to me. Happy made his way around the vehicle, stepped inside and slowly pulled out into traffic.

For the entire drive, I shifted restlessly, unable to stay still for more than a minute. The windows seemed to be tinted as dark as legally possible, the usual for all of Tony’s cars, allowing only a hint of the morning sun to touch my skin. My bottom lip ached from how much I’d been biting at it and I had small crescent-shaped dents in my skin from digging my nails into my wrist. Despite the surprisingly light traffic, the drive still felt like it took absolutely forever. And my phone remained silent and notification-free every time I checked it, though if I was being honest with myself, I checked it pretty much every thirty seconds.

Finally, though, we arrived at Stark Tower. I had never been more thankful that Tony had changed his mind about selling the Tower. If Tony had taken Peter to the compound up north, it would have been a two-hour drive each way every single time I wanted to visit him. A thirty-minute drive through the city was so much more preferable to that.

With a hasty thank you to Happy, I threw the car door open and ran into the building, my bag hooked precariously over my shoulder. A flash of my Stark Industries ID Tony gave me months ago allowed me access to the elevator and it sluggishly began rising. Even though it was a Saturday, the building wasn’t empty. To my immense frustration, on multiple occasions, the elevator stopped to pick up and drop off various staff members. I tried my best to be polite, returning their smiles and greetings with forced variations of “hello, how are you?” None of the Stark Industries employees had access to the floors I wanted to go to though, so I was blissfully alone when the elevator opened to the medical wing.

My shoes slapped loudly against the tile floor, the sound echoing around me as I hurried down the corridor. I forced myself to not run, but my speed walk was pretty damn close. The door slid open when I approached it and three heads turned in my direction. Tony, May and…

Peter.

I froze in the doorway, my eyes wide and my chest heaving.

He smiled at me. “Hey.”

If this was a dream, I did not want to wake up. I pinched myself on the leg, trying to keep the movement discrete, and nope… definitely real.

“Y-you’re awake,” I breathed, still clutching the doorframe. The automatic door beeped at me to get out of the way and I let go, stumbling inside.

“Let’s leave the kiddos alone for a bit,” Tony smiled, pushing himself up from his chair. “Let them have their reunion in privacy.”

May kissed Peter’s temple and followed Tony out of the room. It was silent for a few seconds before a loud thud broke it. I paid no attention to the bag I’d just dropped, much more focused on hugging the crap out of my boyfriend.

I almost started crying when he hugged me back. It had been a very _very_ long twelve days. After almost ten minutes of intense hugging, I pulled back and sat on the closest chair, the one Tony had been sitting in.

“So uhh… May told me that I missed our one year anniversary,” Peter laughed awkwardly, scratching at the back of his neck.

I chuckled and shoved my hands into the hoodie pockets. “Well, I mean… you did have a pretty good excuse for missing it so… I guess I can let it slide this once.”

“Honestly, this time of year seems to be cursed for us,” he pointed out. “First, the hostage thing at Grand Central last year and now a public bombing and me almost dying. It kind of sounds like a routine is forming here.”

“How about next year we just lock ourselves indoors and just watch movies for the entire month?” I suggested. “What could go wrong with a month-long movie marathon?”

He grinned. “A month-long power outage and popcorn shortage?”

“Dammit, Peter! Now you’ve cursed Movie March!” I threw my hands up in mock frustration, then folded them across my chest, pushing my lips out in an exaggerated pout.

His grin faded into a fond smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “You’re adorable.”

I blushed and looked away. The bright wrapping paper of the present caught my eye and I pulled it down onto my lap. “Well… If you want, I have your anniversary present here?”

He glanced over at the table the present had been on and he pulled a small box off the table. It had been hidden by an obnoxiously large vase. “Yours is here too, but I didn’t have it on me when we went to the museum. Hmm… maybe May took it from my room and put it here when she saw you’d put my present here.”

“Trade?” I said, holding out the gift.

We traded boxes. His present to me was carefully wrapped in pale blue paper with various sizes of little blue dots, tied with a white ribbon. He counted to three and we tore into them, no hesitation or thought given to saving the discarded wrapping paper. Under the paper was a velvet jewellery box, which I gently pulled open.

It was a beautiful silver heart-shaped locket, hanging from a delicate silver chain. I gasped, pulling it from the stand and flipping it over in my hands. A tiny spider was engraved on the back of the heart and I saw my awestruck expression reflected back at me in the shiny metal surface.

“Peter,” I breathed. “This is so lovely!”

“I’m glad you like it!” he said cheerfully. “I love mine! The silver matches your necklace really well.”

I looked up from the necklace to see him wrapping his new watch around his left wrist, the black leather fitting around his arm perfectly.

“You don’t even know about the best part of yours yet,” he teased.

“Seriously?” I laughed, moving to sit on the edge of his bed. “There’s a best part to your present as well.”

“No shit! You go first!”

“Well at first, it was just the watch. I mean, it’s a gorgeous watch. I _do_ have impeccable taste,” I joked, laughing when he rolled his eyes at me. “But after the whole incident, I asked Tony to add a special feature.”

I held my hand out and he placed his wrist in it. I pointed to a button on the side.

“Okay so like on normal watches, this is the dial you use to adjust the time on the clock,” I explained. “But it also works as a panic button. If you hold the button down for five seconds, it’ll send a distress signal to Tony. So he’ll know you’re in trouble and also have your location so he can come help you!”

“That’s so sweet!” He leaned forward and kissed me gently, our first kiss in almost two weeks. When he pulled back, he lifted his arm to his face to look at the watch more closely. “Honestly, I hope I’ll never need it!”

“Same!” I laughed. “Okay, so what’s special about my necklace?”

“Open it,” he told me.

I slid a nail between the metal and it popped open with a faint click. I could feel Peter’s eyes on me, waiting for my reaction. As soon as the locket was fully open, a hologram appeared over the necklace, projected from inside the locket. It was a picture of me and Peter, the one taken at Peter’s birthday party and the same one Peter had in his room here at the Tower. I stared at it, wide-eyed, and a few seconds later the picture changed, morphing into a photo of us from Tony’s holiday party.

“You can add or remove any photos you like,” Peter explained, his voice soft as he looked at the hologram pictures. “You can add moving pictures as well, but they’re a tiny bit harder to set up.”

“This is amazing, Peter,” I smiled. “I love it! Thank you so much!”

“You’re very welcome,” he said, reaching over to squeeze my hand. “Seems like Tony had a hand in both presents.”

I handed him the necklace and twisted on the bed so my back would be to him. “Put it on for me?”

“Of course.”

He lifted it up and over my head. The chain was cool around my throat and the pendant sat perfectly in the hollow of my throat once Peter clasped it shut. I leaned back and kissed him on the cheek. His arm curled around my waist and held me against his body.

“Lay with me for a bit?” he asked, his lips gently pressing against my hair.

“Of course.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Peter’s patience lasted a few hours before the restlessness settled in.

“Do I have to stay in bed?” Peter frowned. “I’m totally fine now! No breaks, fractures, bruising or poison damage at all.”

May patted his hand. “While that may be true, you’ve also been _in a coma_ for 12 days. We don’t want you to rush anything if you’re not 100% recovered.”

“Which means for at least the rest of the day, you’re confined to bed rest,” Tony said firmly. “The doctor will be back tomorrow morning to run another couple tests and we’ll see how things are then.”

“But I’ve been _resting_ for almost two weeks now,” Peter groaned. “I’ve got a job to do! People to protect, a city to watch out for. That kind of thing!”

“Right now your job is to rest,” I smiled. “And it’s my job… our job to take care of you.”

He sighed, letting himself fall back onto his pillows. “Okay, okay. I’ll stay put.”

May her arm down to rummage through her handbag. “Actually, I have something that might interest you.”

“What’s that?” Peter asked, his disappointment quickly taken over by curiosity.

“A letter came for you while you were sleeping. I haven’t opened it, invasion of privacy and whatnot,” she replied, her voice sounding cheerful and casual. She found it and held out the letter for him. “Here you go.”

He stared at her for a second, then slowly leaned forward and took the envelope. His eyes widened. “Wait… This is the MIT logo.”

May put a hand over her heart, feigning surprise. “Oh, would you look at that! So it is! Well, open it up, see what it says.”

The envelope was still completely sealed, so whatever the letter said would be brand new information to all of us. I could imagine May staring at the letter, wanting so desperately to know what was inside but not wanting to open her nephew’s mail. She wasn’t being very subtle about her excitement. Tony was hiding his anticipation slightly more effectively.

The sound of Peter ripping the envelope seemed ten times louder than it actually was and we all held our breaths as he pulled the letter out. Peter grabbed my hand and gripped it tightly. I gripped it back, silently offering my support. He took a deep breath and unfolded the letter.

“Dear Peter,” he read. “On behalf of the Admissions Committee, it is my pleasure to offer you admission… oh my god oh my god. I’m in. They actually…”

I squeezed Peter’s hand, smiling so wide that my face actually hurt. “You did it! I knew you could!”

“I did it…” he whispered, a look of utter disbelief on his face.

“Congratulations kiddo,” Tony grinned, sitting on the edge of the bed to wrap an arm around Peter’s shoulders. Peter didn’t let go of my hand so I curled against his side on the mattress, tucked between him and Tony. “I’m so proud of you.”

Peter’s face lights up as the news starts to sink in. He glanced back down at the letter and something catches his eye. “Wait… holy fu- I was accepted for a scholarship! A full scholarship!”

“That’s amazing, Peter!” May hugged him from the opposite side to Tony, gently kissing her nephew’s forehead.

“I didn’t even think they did full scholarships for local students,” Peter said, dazed. “I thought they only did them for international students.”

“Maybe they made an exception for you?” Tony shrugged.

Peter recovered quickly and eyed his mentor with suspicion, figuring out what the man had done in a matter of seconds. “Right… An exception called ‘The Promising Prodigy Scholarship’.

“They already think you’re a prodigy?” Tony laughed, shaking his head. “Man, you must have had a damn good application.”

Peter ignored the man’s joking words, instead offering him a smile. “Thank you, Tony.”

Tony smiled back, ruffling Peter’s hair gently. “You’re welcome, kid.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Peter’s first day back at school after two weeks was pretty much like every other day, once the initial craze had died down. His eyes practically bulged out of his head when he saw the mountain of work waiting for him and he immediately sat down to get started on it, getting caught up on everything in just over a week with our help. Things settled back into routine pretty much immediately. Flash and his cronies insulted Peter like usual. MJ and Ned awkwardly flirted with each other, much to mine and Peter’s amusement. Tests and exams wore us down, but we pushed through.

Finally, we found ourselves in the school hall, clothed in matching gowns and caps, listening to long speeches and taking it in turns to walk across the stage and collect our certificates. Tony, Pepper, May and my parents sat in the audience with Ned and MJ’s respective families, cheering as loudly as they possibly could when it was each of our turns.

We were swept up in the wave of excited students and families headed outside, celebrating our newfound freedom. Peter pulled me off to the side, wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. I lost myself in his embrace, in his lips moving against mine. My fingers came up to tangle themselves in his curly hair. We knew our families would be looking for us, wanting to congratulate us. But at that moment, Peter was the only thing on my mind. He pulled back, resting his forehead against mine as we slowly got our breath back.

“Ready to face our futures?” he asked, both arms curled loosely around my waist and a content smile across his lips.

“With you at my side,” I told him, leaning in to kiss him once more. “I’m ready to face anything that comes our way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic ended up being so much longer than I initially planned, but it's honestly my favourite story I've ever written. There's just an epilogue left before this story is complete!  
> Thank you guys for all the reads, likes, comments and bookmarks <3 They mean the absolute world to me!


	7. Epilogue

With Peter having been accepted into MIT and my acceptance to NYU, we were separated. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was one we could work with. Peter usually tried to make the trip back to the city every two weeks or at least once a month. His schedule had been crazy busy though, exam on top of exam on top of assignment on top of studying and cramming, not to mention his car troubles that he refused to let Tony fix, we realised it had been three months since we last saw each other in person. Video calls just weren’t the same. Watching him fall asleep on the other side of the screen - usually making use of a textbook as a pillow - was torturous, knowing I wasn’t there beside him, knowing I couldn’t reach out and sweep away the hairs on his face or swap that textbook out for an actual pillow. Our study dates were only productive about 50% of the time since we’d usually get distracted by telling each other stories of weird or funny shit that had happened on our respective campuses that week. The course load was a lot for him, but seeing the bright grin on his face as he aced another test made it really obvious he was having the time of his life. The distance was definitely starting to take a toll on us though.

It was that exact reason that I couldn’t stop bouncing my leg, the impatience and anticipation leaving me unusually fidgety. May turned her head to smile at me, letting out a fond sigh.

“You doing alright, hun?” 

I jumped, letting out an awkward laugh. “Oh, uhh yeah! I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I’m just a tad concerned that your leg bounces are going to collapse the building,” she grinned.

“Oh ha ha,” I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest. “Very funny.”

She pulled her left leg up over her right, pulling at the bottom of her dress so it would sit better. “I know waiting sucks, but it’s not too much longer now.”

“I know,” I groaned quietly. “I wish we would have found out about the delay earlier though. We still would’ve had to wait, but maybe we wouldn’t have had to do all of the waiting at the airport.”

“That would have been nice,” she nodded. “I definitely would’ve saved money on coffee. That was just ridiculous.”

“Oh yeah that was practically a crime,” I laughed. “We should absolutely point that out to Spider-Man. You know, take care of the real issues plaguing New York.”

“Ahh yes, the real top priority,” she chuckled. She glanced over my shoulder, her smile growing. “Hey, check out the flight board.”

I whipped my head around to look the long list of arrivals, my eyes darting around until I finally found the right one.

_ Terminal 8 - AA1140 - Boston - 15:54 - Gate 43 - Landed _

My grin now matched May’s. I twisted back around to face her again, doing my best not to bounce in my seat. We sat, semi-patiently, and waited. Ten minutes later, the passengers finally walked into the airport.

May and I jumped up, walking to the edge of the chairs, amongst the other people waiting for loved ones. I scanned the crowd of disembarking passengers, going up on tiptoes in an attempt to see better.

Tall, blonde woman in a business suit and heels? Nope.

Young boy in a Spider-Man shirt with a firm grip on a Spider-Man bag? Adorable, but nope.

Man tall enough to be a basketball player? Nope.

Gorgeous guy with brown curly locks, heart-stopping chocolate eyes and a smile I’d never tire of? Yes.

“Peter!”

His eyes locked onto mine and he broke free of the crowd. A grin lit up his face, an expression not out of place on Peter’s face. But this smile was different. It was the smile of someone who realised that not only had his birthday had come early, but Christmas had as well. It was the smile of someone who’d hit the jackpot. Peter looked at me like he’d won the lottery. It fitted quite well because I definitely felt like I’d hit the jackpot with him.

He almost ran over to us, his backpack bouncing with every step he took. I met him halfway.

Peter’s strong arms wrapped tightly around my back and I flung mine around his neck. We clung to each other desperately. He smiled against my skin and lifted me off my feet, spinning me around in a quick circle, laughing at my surprised squeal. I heard a quiet “aww” from behind us and felt my cheeks grow hot.

He lowered me to my feet but didn’t let me go. Instead, he pressed his lips against mine. It was soft and gentle and slow. It was a kiss that was long overdue, but it felt like the time we’d spent apart just disappeared now that he was back in my arms again. I could feel the tension leaving his body as we practically melted into each other. If I’d ever experienced doubts or fears at any point during those three long months of separation, this kiss would have been an immediate cure.

“Now I don’t mean to interrupt you two lovebirds, but I would like to greet my nephew sometime today.”

We broke apart, glancing back at May’s amused expression and, even though she’d absolutely caught us in worst positions (memories that Peter was still trying to repress), we both flushed a deep red.

May laughed and opened her arms. “Do I get a hug?”

Peter kissed me on the cheek, then stepped over to his aunt, wrapping her in a hug. She hugged him back, her hands sliding underneath the backpack so she could hug him properly.

“Missed you, Pete,” May said quietly.

He squeezed her tighter. “Missed you too May.”

A few seconds later, they let go. He held his hand out to me and I laced my fingers through his, letting myself be pulled against his side. 

“We’re never leaving it that long again,” I told him, squeezing his hand. “That was awful.”

“Well next time that one’s on you. It’s your turn to come visit me,” he pointed out, smiling crookedly.

“If I just fly back with you, does that count?” I asked.

He leaned in and kissed my temple. “I know you’re joking, but I’m absolutely on board with that idea.”

“I’ll smuggle myself into your luggage.”

“Talk any louder and you’ll get banned from flying,” May warned, only half joking.

“You might have a point there…” I smiled nervously. “Do you have any checked luggage we need to grab before we go, Peter?”

He nodded. “Yeah, we should head over there before someone steals my bag.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Between waiting for Peter’s bag, the walk to May’s car and the drive from the airport, we arrived back at May’s apartment 45 minutes later. May had given me the okay to spend the night and it was so weird to be back in their apartment. I’d gotten so used to my tiny dorm room. Tony had offered to get me an apartment close to NYU, but I told him that the laptop, tablet, and phone from the new Stark line had been more than enough.

I’d never been completely certain on why Tony was happy to spend money on me. I tried to tell myself that it was because he was fond of me, but when logic broke it down to the basics which was a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist spending money on his intern’s girlfriend… it did sound a little odd. And from the outside looking in, that’s definitely how it appeared. But we knew it was different. Tony was basically like my cool uncle. I never expected to be friends with Tony Stark and it was strange to have gone from admiring him when I was a kid to making fun of him and hanging out with him as a teenager/young adult.

We walked into the apartment, each of us holding onto a piece of luggage. May and Peter had his luggage and I had my overnight bag. The only thing that had changed in the apartment since the last time I’d been here was that there was now a framed photo from our high school graduation. Peter and I stood side by side in the picture, holding our graduation certificates, with Tony, May, and Pepper on either side of us. In May’s wallet, I knew she had a small picture of just her and Peter from that day.

“So, kiddos, what are you feeling for dinner tonight?” May asked. She dropped Peter’s bag off just outside his room, the bag landing with a muffled thud on the wooden floors. “We could get pizza or Chinese? Or Thai’s always a classic?”

“Pizza’s easy,” I shrugged. “I’m not really fussy though. What do you think, Peter?”

“I’m fine with pizza,” he nodded.

She smiled. “Alright. I’ll put the order in, maybe in an hour or so. You two go catch up.”

She disappeared into the kitchen and Peter and I walked into his room, sitting down on the bottom bunk of his bed side by side. He curled his arm around my waist and I leaned my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes contentedly.

“I missed you so much,” he whispered, resting his head on top of mine.

“I missed you too,” I sighed. “I know school is important and everything, but it’s so difficult being that far away from each other. And I know people have way longer long distance relationships than ours, but still…”

He stroked my skin soothingly, tracing random patterns under my shirt. “I know, love. I know the distance sucks. We made it through a whole year though and I think we should be proud of that. Now we just have to do it again.”

“It sounds so easy when you say it like that.”

“I’m sure Tony wouldn’t have an issue with us making use of his plane,” Peter chuckled. “He’s only offered it to me about a thousand times.”

“It would probably save us a lot of time and money since we wouldn’t have to deal with the insanity or airports or their overpriced coffees anymore,” I said, weighing up the idea. “And I doubt Tony will stop suggesting it to us until we finally use it. If we do use the plane though, I can’t help but feel like he’s going to be so ‘I told you so’.”

He kissed my temple. “If I get to see you more often, that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“You smooth fucker,” I laughed, poking him playfully in the side.

“You love me,” he teased. He twisted away from my fingers, doing his best to pretend he wasn’t ticklish, and somehow ended up half on top of me.

I hooked my arm around his neck, pulling his face down to mine, our lips meeting in a slow kiss. “Yeah… I do.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

“Sleep well, you two. It’s a big day tomorrow, so you both need your rest. And I’m sure you remember this apartment has fairly thin walls.”

“Yep, okay, thank you, Aunt May! Goodnight!” 

He got up hastily and almost slammed the door closed. I wrapped an arm around my stomach, flopping back on the bed, my laughter echoing around the small room. Peter’s red-faced glare at me only made me laugh harder.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

The sleek black limo pulled up outside just after 2pm. Honestly how the driver managed to park a freaking limo outside the apartment building was amazing to me. The three of us climbed inside. We’d all been driven around in Tony’s cars before, but somehow being in a limo was on another level. None of Tony’s cars had a mini bar. Though it was strange to be driven by someone other than Happy.

We cleaned up fairly nicely if I did say so myself. May wore a beautiful satin burgundy V-neck dress with gold heels and a gold necklace that Ben had given her. Her hair was pulled back in a braid.

I was dressed in a navy blue dress with wonderfully flowing fabric. I’d paired it with black heels and the locket from Peter. In the entire time since he’d given it to me, I’d taken it off maybe four or five times. Seeing Peter’s face light up whenever he saw me wearing it, even if he’d seen it on me just the day before was beautiful.

Peter looked absolutely mouth watering in a charcoal grey suit and black dress shoes. He’d caught me eyeing him when he was dressing and gave me a wink. His suit options had really expanded after befriending Tony Stark. The man seemed to take it as a personal insult when Peter had told the man that he only owned one suit - a hand-me-down suit at that.

Tony had huffed and immediately booked them an appointment with his tailor. “Seriously Peter. People would ask questions if the person I’d chosen as my heir didn’t even have a decent set of suits.”

Peter’s eyes had widened, his mouth falling open in shock. “ _ I’m your heir _ ?!”

It wasn’t exactly the way Tony had planned to tell Peter the news but god it made for a funny story.

Theoretically, it was a 40-45 minute drive out to Long Island. Saturday afternoon traffic extended that out to just under an hour. The parking lot was mostly empty; four cars to what seemed like a hundred empty parking spaces. Our driver pulled over close to the entrance, waited for us to climb out of the car, then pulled back out into traffic.

Tony was waiting for us inside, looking as put together as ever in a crisp black suit with a white rose in his jacket pocket. He had a wide grin on his face. May greeted him and kissed him on the cheek before going to find Pepper.

“How are my college kiddos doing?” You’ve both gotten so tall and grown-up looking! I almost didn’t recognise you!” Tony cried.

“Okay I realise that it’s been like three months for you and Peter, but you saw me two weeks ago, Tony,” I said, giving him a look of playful exasperation.

“Absolutely forever ago,” he grinned.

“His memory must be going. I hear that happens with old age,” Peter joked, attempting to appear sympathetic.

“Oh of course. How tragic,” I sighed, barely able to hold back my giggles.

“Hey!” Tony protested. “I think I look pretty good for my age.”

“No comment,” Peter replied.

“I’m beginning to regret inviting you two to this,” Tony pouted. “Today is supposed to be all about me.”

“Pretty sure it’s supposed to be all about Pepper,” I countered.

Tony brushed imaginary dust off his suit sleeves. “I have it on good authority that I look just as radiant as she does.”

“And whose authority is that?” Peter raised an eyebrow.

“Mine of course!”

“Have you even seen Pepper today?” I asked.

“I don’t have to have seen her to know she looks gorgeous,” he pointed out.

“Hmm,” I smiled. “I’ll give you that one.”

“Why thank you.” He gave a mock bow, exaggerating every movement. “Hey, come have a look at the views this place has. It’s gorgeous.”

He showed us the way to the ballroom, which looked even larger considering there was only one table set up in it. The crystal chandeliers reflected the brilliant sunshine into dazzling prisms of light on the wooden floor.

What was most eye-catching though was exactly what Tony wanted us to see. The entire back wall of the ballroom was taken up by large windows. Half the view was of a huge, leafy tree but the other showed the stunning lake, the water sparkling like diamonds.

“Holy crap,” I whispered. “I looked at pictures of this place, but seeing it in person is something else.”

Peter leaned on one of the metal chairs, his attention focused on the view. “Did you have any input in picking this place, Tony?” he asked.

“I entrusted Pepper with that duty,” Tony replied, looking down at his sleeves as he adjusted them.

“Along with every other duty?”

“Honey bear!” Tony cried, spinning around to face the man.

Rhodes smiled, obviously well accustomed to Tony’s enthusiasm. “We all know the only role you played in this was the wallet.”

“I resent that,” Tony complained. “I picked out my suit.”

“You basically do that every day,” Peter pointed out.

“Ha! I sorted out your car here,” Tony grinned, clearly proud of his second accomplishment.

I held up my finger in the air, pointing it at him. “Yes, but you’ve done that for us before.”

“Why does that take away from the sentiment? Plus, it wasn’t even Happy driving you, which means I had to… talk to people,” Tony shuddered. “I feel like that’s worth bonus points.”

Peter chuckled. “Is it though?”

“Rhodey, my kids are bullying me again,” Tony sighed. “Be a good platypus and defend me.”

“Sorry Tones,” Rhodes laughed. “I’m on their side here.”

“Why did I invite any of you?”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

The slowly setting sun cast a warm glow over the lake, making the water appear a pale orange. Tony stood with Rhodes, Happy and the officiate under the white metal gazebo, chatting quietly. Chairs were set up on either side of the stone aisle, about ten in total. May sat with Peter and me and we looked out over the lake. A group of Pepper’s friends stood nearby as well.

Then, over the speakers, a beautiful classical piece started playing. The few of us who weren’t standing got to our feet, Rhodey and Happy coming over to stand next to May. A door opened behind us and Pepper walked out.

The look on Tony’s face when he saw her was like something out of a fairy tale. The man was always quick with a joke or a quip, but at that moment, I knew that he had no words. His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open just a bit. Then he smiled. A tiny curve up to his lips, a subtle motion, but his eyes said everything. His eyes showed just how much he truly loved the woman walking towards him, how much he would sacrifice for her. I knew that if she asked him to, he would give her the world.

Pepper looked absolutely stunning. Her dress was ivory coloured and completely covered in lace with a small beaded belt circling her waist. Behind her trailed a short train. Her hair was pulled up into an elegant twist, with small white and light pink roses pinned in, perfectly matching her bouquet. She hadn’t even made it halfway down the rose petal covered aisle before her eyes started glistening with unshed tears of happiness.

Tony reached a hand out to her as she got closer and she put her hand in his, joining him in the gazebo. The officiant smiled at them both, then gestured for us to sit down.

“I offer the warmest of welcomes to you all. We have gathered here today on this beautiful day to celebrate the wedding of Tony and Pepper. You have come here to share in this commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to their union, and to allow Tony and Pepper to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them.

“Tony and Pepper thank you for your presence here today. They ask for your blessing, encouragement, and lifelong support, for their decision to be married. They also remember other loved ones who cannot be here to share this moment with them today. Those people too, they hold dear in their hearts.

“Tony and Pepper, marriage is the promise between two people who love each other, who honour one another as individuals in that togetherness, and who wish to spend the rest of their lives together. It enables the two separate souls to share their desires, longings, dreams, and memories, their joys and sorrows, and to help each other through all uncertainties of life. You are agreeing to share strength, responsibilities, and love. To make this relationship work, therefore, takes more than love. It takes dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so. And it takes faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both.

“At this point, I’d normally ask you two to hold hands, but you’re already on top of that.” The officiant gestured at their joined hands with a chuckle. “Now I understand the two of you have written your own vows. Tony, would you like to start?”

Tony cleared his throat, looking slightly nervous for the first time. “I’m sure you know by now that I’m not the mushiest of people. I don’t do romantic things and when I do, it doesn’t really go well. Seriously, I still have flashbacks of that giant stuffed rabbit.”

He shuddered. It seemed that May, Peter and I were the only ones who weren’t familiar with the joke because everyone else laughed quietly.

“There’s definitely a lot of things I’m unsure about in life. There’s one thing I’ve never been unsure about though: you. I’ve never doubted that I love you. Even before we got together, I loved you. You were always there for me when I needed you, ready to help me out of whatever hot water I’d landed myself in. That’s why I promise to always support you and to be there for you like you are there for me. I promise to always love you because I’m pretty sure it’s impossible for me to not love you. For me, there was never a question, never a doubt in my mind. It’s always been you.”

After a few seconds to make sure Tony was finished, the officiant turned to face the bride. “Pepper?”

Pepper had visible tears running down her face now, looking at Tony with such love. Her  “You started off as just my boss, but before I knew it, you had become so much more. You became a friend, someone I could laugh and have fun with. Then suddenly, you became my partner. You became my confidant, my rock, and the keeper of my heart as I knew I was the keeper of yours. I realised one day that I knew I never wanted to be apart from you. I wanted to be able to say that you were mine and even though it took us a while to get here, there aren’t enough words to explain how happy I am that I’m here with you now. I promise to be patient and supportive of your goals, but I also promise to tell you when you’re being an idiot.” Her smile and light squeeze of his hands took the bite out of her words. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Tony.”

Pepper pushed her way through her vows, not letting the tears stop her from telling Tony how she felt. Tony rubbed his thumb over her skin, mouthing “I love you”. 

The officiant spoke again. “Tony, do you take Pepper to be your wife?”

Tony nodded. “I do.”

“Pepper, do you take Tony to be your husband?”

Pepper took a steadying breath before she spoke, smiling widely. “I do.”

“Please present the rings.”

Rhodey got to his feet, pulling two ring boxes from his pocket, handing them to his friends. He returned to his seat, surprisingly misty-eyed.

“Your wedding ring is a symbol of your promise to one another. The ring, an unbroken, never-ending circle, is a symbol of committed, unending love.

“Tony, as you place this ring on Pepper’s finger, repeat these words after me: This ring symbolises my love for you and the commitments we made today.”

Tony carefully slipped the thin gold band onto his bride’s finger, repeating the officiant’s words to her. Pepper did the same with the slightly thicker gold band, only stopping once, working through her tears.

“Tony and Pepper, you have come here today of your own free will and in the presence of your loved ones, have declared your love and commitment to each other. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

The photos were done relatively quickly, as the Pepper-approved photographer warned that the good lighting would fade soon. They did get some absolutely stunning sunset photos with the orange-pink lake in the background. Everyone was brought into at least one photo with the newly married couple. Peter and I joined them for a photo in the gazebo as well as for one beside the lake. Peter also did one with them by himself. I had to admit, it was kind of funny to think that I’d have photo proof that I’d attended what was sure to dubbed ‘the most exclusive wedding of the year’ or something like that.

Dinner had just wrapped up. At first, it had felt kind of strange to all be seated around one table while the rest of the hall around us was completely empty, but it soon just felt like a family dinner, despite having never met Pepper’s friends before. Peter was on my left and May was on my right. Rhodey had us all in tears after telling a story about him and Tony in college, though Tony immediately retaliated with another embarrassing story. 

One of the staff members was in charge of the music and he put on a slow ballad. Tony pushed his chair away from the table and stood up, holding a hand out to Pepper. When she put her hand in his, he pulled her up and swept her out onto the dance floor, his arms wrapped around her waist. It was easy to see how in love they were at that moment. They locked eyes and I could almost feel their worlds fading down to just the two of them, their only focus on their locked eyes and slow, lazy waltz.

I was so mesmerised by the couple that I jumped when Peter stood up next to me. I glanced over at him to find him with his hand out like Tony had been only a few minutes earlier.

“Dance with me?” 

I took his hand and we joined Pepper and Tony on the dancefloor. Neither Peter nor I were very good at dancing. We soon settled into spinning around each other in slow circles, his arms around my waist and mine around his neck. 

Saying that our prom was only a year and a few months ago felt really weird - it felt like an eternity had passed since then. That was the last time we’d danced together and our dancing skills hadn’t improved much. We definitely resembled awkward high schoolers at prom more than a couple at a wedding, but if Peter’s content smile was anything to go by, he wasn’t concerned about it. I couldn’t find it in myself to care either.

Though neither of us had spoken to each other that in depth about it, I knew we’d both been worried that the distance might have been the end for our relationship. Not that we doubted the strength of our bond or anything like that, but couples had been broken up over way less than that. Going from seeing each other pretty much every day to seeing each other once or twice a month in person with semi-frequent calls and Facetiming was a serious change - one that we both weren’t fond of. We made communication and honesty a top priority in our relationship. Obviously, it had already been important, but the distance made it even more vital. If he was upset or lonely, I couldn’t just show up at his door to make him feel better like I’d done when we both lived in New York. 

Every emotion felt heightened with our relationship. The loneliness and longing felt worse the longer we were apart, but it made hearing his voice or seeing his face feel even better. It was like we appreciated those moments more, not taking the simple things like that for granted. None of those good things compared to seeing him in person. When we finally saw each other again after weeks or months, I felt complete again, like there was a part of me that had been missing. Once we could live together again, I knew that we’d look back and know that our relationship was stronger after living away from each other.

He stroked his thumb across my chiffon covered waist. “What are you thinking about?”

“You, me… Life,” I answered happily.

“Like future kind of stuff?” 

I cocked my head slightly, looking at him curiously. “Well no, I was thinking more of the present. Are you thinking about the future?”

“Kinda yeah,” he shrugged, only half succeeding at looking nonchalant. 

Two of Pepper’s friends danced nearby us, holding each other way too intimately to be just friends. Tony and Pepper had paused their dancing to get a drink and were now chatting with Rhodes and Happy.

“Like us future?”

He nodded. “Like... once we’re finished school.”

I smiled, playing with the tiny curls at the back of his neck. “What do you see us doing?”

“I’ll move back to New York, of course. Get a job with Tony, whether that’s with him personally or with Stark Industries.” He sounded so sure as he spoke, painting a picture of our future together with his words. “We’ll find a cute apartment together, spending ages trying to furnish and decorate it so we both love it, but also knowing that neither of us has any expertise in interior design. If we’re lucky, we can find a place with an office or an extra bedroom we can turn into an office. Tony and May will want to be involved in the search. And your parents too so there won’t be a shortage of opinions. Tony will offer to pay for part of our rent so we can get a higher end apartment, but we’ll say no so we can be independent.”

My eyes were wide as I listened to him, utterly entranced by his words. It sounded like a dream, but also attainable at the same time. I barely even noticed that we’d stopped dancing.

“Bonus points if we can find a place that allows pets, so we can get a dog. We’ll take him for walks out to the nearest park and spoil the hell out of it. We’ll say the dog’s not allowed on the furniture, but neither of us will protest when it ends up curled up on the couch next to us.” Our eyes were locked. He blinked lazily, as lost in his tale as I was. “And one day, it’ll be you and me standing where Tony and Pepper stood earlier. You’ll be an absolute vision and I wouldn’t be surprised if I teared up. And in front of all our friends and family, I’ll vow to love you and spend the rest of my life by your side.” 

“Yes please,” I whispered, my heart beating a touch too quickly. “I want all of that.”

“So you wouldn’t mind spending your life with me?” he asked, a faint blush on his cheeks.

“There’s no one else I’d rather spend it with.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, kissing me slightly longer than what was probably considered proper. When he pulled back, he laughed quietly. “This isn’t an actual proposal. I promise I’ll get a ring and do it the right way.”

I giggled. “Yeah, I think it’s rude to steal the bride and groom’s thunder.”

He started to reply, but his eyes locked onto something over my shoulder and he paused, his mouth still open. When I turned my head to see what had him so stunned, I saw May and Happy dancing together. They stood in the more traditional ‘waltz position’. They didn’t look completely at ease, but they definitely looked happy. May was even blushing a tiny bit.

“Awww,” I cooed, quiet enough so only Peter would hear. “That’s a new one.”

“It’s… weird,” Peter said, scrunching his nose up in unhappy confusion.

“They’re only dancing, Pete,” I pointed out. “It’s not like they’re kissing.”

He groaned and let his head fall onto my shoulder. “Great. Now that’s in my head.”

“No interrogating May about this!” I told him, only half joking.

He paused, then petulantly replied, “I only promise to try.”

“That’s all I asked, leaning in to kiss him again. “Now… about that dog…”

“Seriously,” he snorted. “I say mention proposing and you choose to focus on the dog?”

“Well duh,” I said, playfully raising an eyebrow. “I absolutely have my priorities in order!”

“I promise it will be the cutest of dogs.” He managed to hold an exasperated expression for about two seconds before the grin appeared again. 

“Okay, now I’m fully on board!”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

A package from Tony and Pepper arrived in the mail two months after the wedding. I’d had no idea they were sending anything, but my curiosity didn’t let me focus on that for longer than a few seconds. The item inside was wrapped tightly in a layer of bubble wrap, which distracted me for a while before the lure of the package dragged me back in. Under that was a layer of newspaper. When I pulled that away, I found a shiny black photo frame, accented with elegant silver lines around the edges. The photo was of me and Peter with Pepper and Tony, the lake in the background. We stood close together, brilliant smiles on our faces.

A second photo frame was also in the box, identical to the first one. The picture in it immediately took my breath away.

I’d completely forgotten that the photographer had been moving around the reception as well and I never expected him to have taken a picture of me and Peter. We were in the middle of the dancefloor, wrapped tightly in each other’s arms and lost in each other’s eyes. The glow from the chandeliers lit us perfectly. In the picture, I looked at him adoringly and the same expression was on Peter’s face as well. I’d bet any money that this picture had been taken during Peter’s vision of our future.

I set the two frames up on my tiny dorm desk and I knew that as soon as Peter and I moved in together, I knew these photos would be the first thing we’d hang to make the apartment feel like ours. Somehow that photographer had managed to perfectly capture how much I loved Peter. Having that photo would be enough of a reminder for the short term, but the idea of seeing that look on his face in person whenever he looked at me… 

That was a future I could look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it's finished. This ended up being about 35,000 words longer than I originally planned but I'm so insanely happy with how it turned out. You guys have been absolutely incredible this whole journey and all of your support has meant the world to me. If you have any ideas for scenes you'd like to see, of them in the future or parts from this story that I mentioned that you'd be interested in me expanding on, let me know! It's not a 100% guarantee that they'll be written, but this story has been the most fun to write and I'd love to explore this universe further.  
> Also, if you're interested in the venue the wedding took place at, I used Windows on the Lake as my reference. It's absolutely stunning and I knew I had to use it as soon as I saw it.
> 
> Finally, as always, please let me know what you thought! Whether it's your favourite scene, favourite quote, anything at all! I always smile when I see a new comment. Alright, that's it! I love you guys and thank you for reading <3


End file.
